Best Friends
by InuYume88
Summary: AU Inu/Kag. They had been best friends since forever, so moving to a new city for college together was a dream come true. But when Kagome was forced to have a serious conversation with Inuyasha, he didn't react the way she expected and that changed their relationship forever. Forgiveness isn't easy and neither is acknowledging what's right in front of you.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey everyone! I had this story on my mind since last week and couldn't wait to get back to writing. I still have some major work to do on Where I Belong, my Inuyasha canon, but couldn't get off this one first. I hope you like it and reviews are appreciated!

Summary: AU Inu/Kag. They had been best friends since forever, so moving to a new city for college together was a dream come true. But when Kagome was forced to have a serious conversation with Inuyasha, he didn't react the way she expected and that changed their relationship forever. Forgiveness isn't easy and neither is acknowledging what's right in front of you.

CHAPTER 1

"Hey, are you home? I'm dropping by in a few minutes, I have to pick up that sweater I left there. My friend wants it back and if I don't return it today she's gonna punch me, so yeah, I'm coming over."

Kagome pressed send and, after seeing that her voice message had gone through, put her phone back into her pocket. She had just left the café she was in and was headed towards her best friend's penthouse. She knew it was okay to just drop by, but she always tried to let him know beforehand, especially on a Saturday. She knew his girlfriend usually spent the whole weekend at his place and it didn't feel right barging in his apartment unannounced.

Autumn's crisp air was touching her face and she couldn't help but smile. It felt so good to be in New York, especially this time of the year. She loved walking the streets without a care in the world, without worrying about how she was dressed, how she acted, how she walked. She loved the freedom and the restlessness she felt there. And in those moments she quietly thanked God for the opportunity to live there.

It feels so long ago since I lived in Japan. I can't believe it's been six years.

Kagome had lived in Tokyo her whole life. After much effort from her mom's side, including using her late father's money to put her through a prestigious private high school, she graduated top of her class, got a scholarship at NYU and moved to America when she turned 18. She missed her hometown and family like crazy, but it had always been a dream of hers to live abroad and New York had always been her top choice.

And, of course, New York's position on her dream list was due, in part, to her best friend. Inuyasha and Kagome had met in 4th grade and since then they had become inseparable. They attended the same high school and had been through a lot together. His parents' death from a plane crash when they were 15, her grandfather's death when they were 17, breakups, failed tests… They had always been a constant in each other's lives and, back in 10th grade, when he told her he was going to attend college in New York, they decided she would come too.

And so she did.

It hadn't been easy and Inuyasha had tried, in vain, to help her financially. His father had been the founder of a popular trading company and had amassed a huge amount of wealth. Since his heirs had only been Inuyasha and his older half-brother, the hanyou was, pretty much, set for life. He had always and would always live a very comfortable life and he wanted to do everything he could to include Kagome in that deal.

He had insisted on helping with her housing costs, even offering to share his apartment with her. But she refused and told him she didn't want to mix friendship with money. So, with her mom's help, she found a tiny apartment in Manhattan. In the beginning, though, she was forced to accept a loan, to pay for the first six months of rent. Of course she had to share the apartment with someone else, since living in the city was outrageously costly, and, fortunately, she met Sango, who was also attending NYU, on her first day in school.

Inuyasha had been pissed, telling her she could've lived with him and payed rent. She just told him she wouldn't be able to afford his rent and wouldn't accept to pay less than what it was supposed to be anyway. So he relented, knowing how stubborn she was.

Living with Sango was fun and she preferred it that way. Inuyasha had met a girl in the second year of college and they had been together since then. That wasn't enough reason to not be his roommate, but the fact was that Kagome didn't like his girlfriend. Kagome tried her best to be friends with Kikyo, but she failed. The girl was just too different from her. They would never click and, fortunately, Inuyasha was able to separate his love from his friends, even though everyone knew it wasn't the most pleasant thing for him. Kagome felt bad about not bonding with Kikyo.

Feeling her pocket vibrate, Kagome took out her phone and smiled. Inuyasha had just answered her message with a simple word: Alright.

He had never been good with words. But his actions spoke loudly. He was always super protective of Kagome and would do anything he could to be there for her. It amazed her, to see how much he did for her even though he had a needy girlfriend. He had never failed her.

When she found out, right before graduating college, that her boyfriend of two years had been cheating on her, she bawled her eyes out on his fancy shirt at the same time he was supposed to be at a celebratory dinner with Kikyo. He didn't even mentioned it to her. She found out the next day, when she ran into Kikyo and she thanked her for ruining her night.

That was Inuyasha. She could always count on him and she owed him a lot.

As Kagome approached Inuyasha's building, she remembered that night. How devastated she had been, how much it hurt… she hadn't had another serious relationship since her breakup with Kouga and that had been two years ago. She still believed in love, though now she had a really hard time trusting men. Well, men who weren't Inuyasha anyway.

She waved at Carl, the doorman, and went straight to the elevator. Reaching her destination's floor, she noticed the front door open and walked inside her best friend's penthouse. She immediately spotted him in the open-concept kitchen.

"Hey!"

Inuyasha was typing furiously on his phone, but put it down on the counter with a sigh and turned to the fridge, after smiling at Kagome. "Hey yourself. Want a drink?", he asked, taking a large gulp from his water bottle.

Kagome frowned and shook her head. "What happened?"

Inuyasha waved his hand at her in dismissal. "Keh, nothing important. Sesshoumaru is just pissing me off about some deal we are about to close on Monday. Don't worry."

Kagome nodded in understanding and located her friend's sweater on the couch. "Got it. Sucks being a big shot, but hey, it has its perks", she said smiling mischievously and gesturing to the room.

Inuyasha smirked. "It better. I wouldn't work as much as I do if it weren't for the 'perks'".

"Oh please, you don't have to work at all. You just do it because you love it. Admit it. You never wanted to work with your brother on your dad's company, I know, but things change, you changed, and here you are, working 60 hours a week just for the hell of it."

"Keh."

"Yeah yeah. So, where's Kikyo?" Kagome tried to deal with the whole Kikyo matter as nonchalantly as possible. She figured, if they can't act as friends, she could, at least, treat her as one in the presence of Inuyasha, to let him know she was okay with his relationship and that he could talk to her about his girlfriend if he wanted to. It wasn't pleasant, but it was the least she could do, she thought.

"Shopping with some friends, somewhere. I don't know", he said while grabbing his phone again and reading something. He mumbled something that sounded a lot like "Sesshoumaru's a bitch" and then put the phone down again, turning to her. "She's going to spend the night at Kaede's, so I was thinking maybe we could go to a dive bar, get pissed, play some pool… what do you think?"

Kagome smiled. "That sounds like a plan. I've been so stressed this week, I can't wait to get drunk and kick your ass in pool", she said. "Are we going to invite Miroku and Sango?"

"Yeah right. As if you could beat me at pool. That's happened ONCE, Kagome, once. Don't set yourself up for disappointment."

"Sure, Dog Boy. So, is the Power Couple joining us or what?"

"Yeah, text them, see if they have any plans."

Kagome nodded and took her phone out of her pocket to text Sango. "So, why is Kikyo spending the night with her sister again? She's been doing it a lot lately, right?"

"Yeah, her sister hurt her eye or something. She's been having trouble with her sight and Kikyo doesn't like leaving her alone at their place", Inuyasha said while opening a package of ramen.

Kagome nodded. "Poor Kaede… so young and already having serious health troubles. Oh, Sango answered my text!"

Inuyasha snorted. "How sympathetic of you."

Kagome glared at him. "She said they are going to Jersey to have dinner with Miroku's uncle. So that leaves just the two of us. What time shall we go?"

"I don't know, 7ish?"

"Hm, make it 8, I want to get my nails done first."

"Seriously? What, do you think you'll meet someone decent while playing pool in a dive bar?", he said mockingly.

"Are you saying you aren't decent?" Kagome asked with raised eyebrows.

He sighed. "Point made."

Inuyasha picked Kagome up at 8 sharp, insisting they take his driver, so that they could get wasted in peace, knowing they would get home safely. Even though she got her nails done, Kagome wore a simple jeans and t-shirt for the outing, along with a leather jacket and boots.

"Well hello, princess. Where's your gown?", he said when she got inside the car. He loved making fun of her, but even he couldn't deny she was beautiful. It wasn't something he let himself ponder over that often, but whenever they went out he found himself thinking what it would be like if they were actually going out on a date. And that thought never freaked him out at all, but it was something that he just pushed aside and carried on making fun of her.

"I don't know, where's my prince?"

"Ha."

They arrived at their favorite shitty bar and started to down some long awaited beers while chatting and playing pool. A little after midnight, they decided they had had enough fun and headed home. Arriving at Kagome's place, she insisted on him staying over, since Sango was supposed to spend the night with Miroku and there was no one waiting for him at home either, so, as it occasionally happened, Inuyasha borrowed Kagome and Sango's couch for the night.

The next morning, Kagome woke up with a slight headache and went to the kitchen to get some water and Advil. Inuyasha was sitting on the couch eating cereal from a bowl with no milk and looked at her disheveled self.

"Oh God, I forgot you were here." She said when she got to the living room/kitchen and spotted him.

"Good morning to you too, Sleeping Beauty." Inuyasha tried his best to not look at her outfit. He really did. It wasn't enough that he was only in his boxers and had a slight morning wood. She had to show up in a sexy short white teddy with lacy neckline, that accentuated her full breasts and showed a significant amount of leg. And that sexy bed hair. Oh God. Down, boy, please.

"Said the 26 year-old man eating Fruit Loops", she said while opening the cabinet to get the medicine.

"They're YOUR Fruit Loops, 26 year-old woman."

"Not mine, Sango's. Those things make me want to throw up."

"Drama queen", Inuyasha mumbled.

"What did you say?"

"Uh, just 'gorgeous queen'."

"Uh huh. So, any plans for today?", she asked, while downing her Advil with a glass of water.

"Not really. Kikyo just texted me saying she didn't get much sleep last night and told me she would call me later… so no, nothing planned."

"Want to hit the gym?" Kagome said.

"Seriously? You? The gym? On a Sunday?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah! I'm thinking about quitting my job and setting up a new Instagram account with fitness tips and stuff. You know, be a fitness influencer and all that."

They looked at each other and started laughing. "No, seriously though, I haven't been there in ages and could really use the motivation."

Inuyasha sighed. "Alright, if you want to, we can go. I'll go home, get changed and meet you there in half an hour?"

"Sounds good."

After working out, Kagome and Inuyasha went to the gym's bar to get a smoothie, even though Inuyasha declared he wouldn't get such a thing and was only there to keep her company, even though he caved and got a smoothie for himself, before ordering a second one.

"Fruit Loops and smoothies… wow, what a man."

He glared at her. "Shut up."

Kagome laughed and looked at the door's direction. She froze and became pale. "Inuyasha!", she said through her teeth. "Look who it is!"

Inuyasha turned around and spotted a familiar looking man going towards the cashier. He turned back to her and shrugged. "Yeah, it's Hojo. I've seen him around a few times."

"You never told me that!"

"Why would I? It's just Hojo."

Kagome gaped at him. "You know I had a crush on him in college, dimwit!" Just then she saw Hojo looking at her direction and smiling. She smiled back and he walked towards them.

"Kagome! It's so good to see you! Hey Inuyasha." Hojo said, hugging her.

Inuyasha turned around and nodded. "Yo."

Kagome glared at Inuyasha. "I haven't seen you since graduation. And I've never seen you around here, although I'm not usually around anyway…"

Hojo laughed. "I know, I asked Inuyasha about you once and he told me you rarely came here. I almost asked him for your phone number, but I thought maybe you guys were dating, so I didn't want to-"

"You what?!" Kagome shouted. "Er, sorry. But why would you think that? Inuyasha is still dating Kikyo", she said with a nervous laugh.

"Oh, I didn't know that. It's just that you two were always together, I used to think you'd end up together, but hey, good to know you're still with Kikyo, man." Hojo said, clapping the hanyou's back.

Inuyasha just stared at him.

Kagome cleared her throat. "So, what have you been doing, Hojo?"

"Oh, you know, working a lot. Nothing exciting."

Inuyasha snorted. Kagome glared and turned to Hojo again. "Yeah? You're still working at that law firm?"

"Yeah, the same one since graduation. How about you? I have to say, you look amazing, as always."

Kagome blushed. Inuyasha was beginning to feel ill. "Well, just working too, I found a job at a high school near my apartment, it's good, I like it."

Hojo beamed. "I'm sure you're a great teacher, you were always so passionate.

"Kagome, let's go, I got some work to do."

Kagome turned to Inuyasha. "You do? You said you didn't have plans for today?"

"Well yeah, but I forgot I have some papers to work on. So we should go. Now."

"That's a shame. I really wanted to catch up, Kagome. Maybe we can get together later this week?"

"You know what? Inuyasha, you can go ahead, I know you have a lot to do and I don't have any plans, so I'll just stick around for a while, talk to Hojo… I can get a taxi to go home later." Kagome looked at Hojo and shrugged. He gave her a large smile.

"That would be great!"

Inuyasha huffed. "Fine, suit yourself. I'll see you later then", he said and then did something he never did. He leaned over the table and kissed her cheek. "I'll call you later." They weren't affectionate with each other, not only because he had a girlfriend, but just because it wasn't their style. So Kagome was caught off guard and confused.

Kagome blushed and smiled. Inuyasha nodded at Hojo with a hard gaze and left.

Hojo took his seat and immediately started talking to Kagome, who smiled at him, giving her full attention.

Inuyasha stared at them from the door with a frown. He didn't even realise his claws had slightly lengthened and his golden eyes flicked red, before storming out of the building.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I wanted to thank everyone who gave this story a follow, a favorite and the one person who reviewed. I wasn't planning on publishing a new chapter today, but your encouragement pushed me forward. Thank you so much!

Summary: AU Inu/Kag. They had been best friends since forever, so moving to a new city for college together was a dream come true. But when Kagome was forced to have a serious conversation with Inuyasha, he didn't react the way she expected and that changed their relationship forever. Forgiveness isn't easy and neither is acknowledging what's right in front of you.

CHAPTER 2

Inuyasha didn't know what to think. He knew how hurt Kagome got when she found out about Kouga. He had been there for her, had seen how much she suffered and didn't want her to go through that again. But he also knew she felt lonely, especially since her closest friends had a significant other and couldn't always hang out with her. It was probably a pain in the ass to be the only single person in their little group, and so he felt bad for her.

But then why couldn't he feel happy for her when she told him she had a date with someone she might actually like?

"… so I told him I could and now I'm meeting him in two hours and have nothing to wear!" Kagome said, pulling on her hair. They were sitting on her couch and she turned her body towards him when he didn't answer. She saw him spaced out and frowned. "What the hell is wrong with you today?"

He turned to her with a surprised face. "Uh. What did you say?"

Kagome huffed. "I said, I'm going on a date with Hojo and I have to be at the restaurant in two hours AND I have nothing to wear! Christ, where is your mind today?"

"I… wait, he's not picking you up?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "It's New York, it's 2019… come on Inuyasha, not all of us can afford a driver."

"Well, so what? It's a fucking date, right? He should pick you up, he can certainly afford an Uber!"

"It doesn't matter, that's not the problem at hand here!" Kagome shouted. Inuyasha crossed his arms and sulked. "You stay there, I'm going to try a few dresses and you tell me which one to pick."

"Keh."

Kagome rolled her eyes and went to her bedroom to put on the first outfit, a simple black sheath dress that hit her knees.

"So?"

"Meh."

Second outfit, another black dress, but with long sleeves.

"Meh."

"Come on! A little more feedback would be nice!" She was starting to get frustrated and his lack of help was infuriating her.

"They're boring."

_Insufferable_, she thought. "I don't want to be overdressed…"

"So don't overdress, just pick something a little more interesting and-" He stopped talking suddenly.

"And what?"

"Nothing, the second one was fine." Inuyasha had realised he was about to tell her to pick something sexier, that showed a little more cleavage or a little more leg. That's what a good friend should have told her. But… he didn't like the idea of her dressing like that for a douche like Hojo, or any douche actually. Why? He knew it was because it was the first time since Kouga that she felt this excited about a date. She had never asked for his opinion on what to wear before, so seeing her this giddy was a new thing for him. What he didn't know was _why _he felt that way. He was trying to convince himself that it was solely because he was very protective of his friends and didn't want her to get hurt again. _Yeah, that's it. I'm just afraid of seeing her heartbroken again. _Nonetheless, he was glad he refrained from speaking at the right time.

"Yeah right, you just told me that that one was boring, like the first one! Hang on, I think I have the right one…"

Inuyasha sighed and laid his head on the back of her sofa.

After a couple of minutes, Kagome walked into the room with a gleeful expression. Inuyasha was texting someone and he immediately stopped when he raised his head to look at her. He gulped. He had never seen her this beautiful before. That was certainly a new dress, he would've remembered this one if he had seen it before. Actually, he was pretty sure he would always remember this sight. He felt his groin tighten. _Not. Now._

"This is… too slutty." He blurted.

Kagome startled. "Eh?!"

"For fuck's sake Kagome, your tits are spilling out of the dress!"

Kagome gaped. "Are you insane? They are not! I love this dress! I bought it months ago, I fell in love the second I saw it, but I completely forgot about it, I never had the chance to wear it. I think it's perfect for the occasion, it's tight, but not too tight, v-neck, but not too low, long sleeves, mid-thigh… AND it's red, your favorite color. What's not to like about it?" She tried convincing him.

She had gotten him there. "Well, it's just too much, don't you think? It shows everything and you don't want him to think you're easy." He was still feeling "uncomfortable" and tried shifting on the sofa.

"Pff. I've seen Kikyo wearing shorter dresses than this one, with lower neck lines. Don't go all modest on me now. It's sexy, but not inappropriate. Besides, it's a fancy restaurant we're going to and… I wouldn't mind him thinking I'm easy", she said sheepishly.

Inuyasha stood up quickly. "Are you mad?! Why would you want him to think you're a tramp?!"

"Oh shush, I didn't say tramp. I just… " Kagome sighed. "It's been two years, Inuyasha. Two. Years. I need to get laid…" She made the confession while averting his gaze.

Inuyasha felt a lump in his throat. He knew it had been a while, but not that long. "Y-you haven't… since Kouga… not even once?"

She sighed. "Yeah… I know, it's ridiculous, I'm probably a virgin again, but what can I say? I'm unable to find someone to just satisfy my needs and never see again. And I haven't found anyone that I've wanted to pursue a relationship with, so…" She looked at him again. "But I'm tired of waiting, damn it. Besides, I've known Hojo forever, he's sweet, he's a good man… he's someone I might fall in love with. So I don't see a problem with getting laid first and then starting a relationship. Not this time at least." Her straightforwardness baffled her, but she needed to vent. Perhaps it was uncomfortable for him to hear her saying that, but to hell with it. "Who knows, he might be the one, so in the end it won't matter", she said shrugging.

"So you think that he might really be… the one?" He said with disgust.

Kagome smiled. "Yeah, I do. I don't know, but even if he isn't, he'll do. I've always had this huge crush on him, so I wouldn't mind-"

"Got it, say no more." Inuyasha felt sick to his stomach. The thought of Kagome giving herself to Hojo irked him. But her saying that he might be… he didn't even want to replay her words on his mind. He felt like protecting her from the possible hurt that might bring her, solve all her problems, deal with them in her stead. But, unfortunately, he wasn't in a position to solve THAT problem for her. "Well, I gotta go. I'll see you later, Kagome." He picked up his coat and threw a forced smile at her direction, before heading to the door.

Kagome was surprised to see him walk away that quickly and thought she might have given him too much information, more than he could handle. She ran up to him and grabbed his hand before he put it on the handle.

"Inuyasha, wait, I'm sorry… I know that was oversharing, I just thought that maybe we could talk about this sort of stuff without weirding each other out. I guess that was just too much, sorry…" She said with a cheeky smile.

"Nah, don't worry, it's fine… I just have to go. I'll talk to you later, ok?" He tried his best to show her he was okay with all of it, but it was taking an enormous amount of effort to not grab her arms and shake some sense into her._ Jesus, why am I this angry? What's the matter with me? _

He left and Kagome couldn't shake the feeling he was hiding something. She just decided to not talk about sex with him anymore. She knew he thought of her as a sister, and she knew she DEFINITELY wouldn't want to have that kind of conversation with her brother… so she moved on to her make up and hair.

In spite of her weird moment with Inuyasha, Kagome was excited for her date. It had been a while since she had been this excited. Like she had told Inuyasha, it has been a _very _long time and she had only had a few boring dates here and there. It felt good going out with someone she could picture herself with.

After getting to the restaurant and spotting Hojo at a table near one of the windows, she made her way to him and mentally congratulated herself when she saw his reaction to her dress.

"K-Kagome… you look… wow."

She smiled. "You look great too, Hojo."

He got up from his seat in time to pull her chair for her, which she found endearing, but unnecessary.

"So, what would you like to drink?" He asked.

"Uh, a glass of wine would be great."

Hojo called the waiter and ordered their drinks.

While looking at the menu, Kagome could feel his eyes on her. She looked up at him and smiled. "What?"

"Nothing… I… you don't know this, but I always had a huge crush on you since college. I mean, what could I have done. You started dating Kouga a couple of months after I met you. I was so disappointed, if only I hadn't been so shy to ask you out… but I couldn't help not thinking about you. It wasn't easy being your friend", he chuckled.

Kagome blushed. "I had no idea… I had a crush on you too, before I met Kouga… but, since you didn't ask me out, I thought you weren't interest, and then Kouga showed up…"

Hojo looked flabbergasted. "Shoot. If only I hadn't been such a wuss."

Kagome laughed. "Well, we're here, aren't we?"

He smiled at her. "Yeah."

The night had started great. They caught up on each other's lives once again, shared some memories from their time at NYU and then, half way through dinner, the conversation fiddled. Kagome realised she really had nothing in common with the man sitting in front of her. The illusion she had of him was only that - an illusion. She was stunned at how quickly she realised that. But there was no denying: they weren't a match.

They decided to skip dessert and had an awkward farewell in front of the restaurant, even though she noticed Hojo wanted to extend their date a little, or maybe just give her a kiss goodnight. She politely told him she had a headache and wanted to go home, promising to call soon.

She got into a cab and went home. During the drive, she couldn't help but feel extremely disappointed. _Why can't I fall in love? Am I ruined? _She thought about Inuyasha then. _Damn, he was right. Hojo really isn't the one for me. _She then thought about how easy it was with her best friend, how good it felt when they were together, just talking, laughing… she wished she found someone that made her feel that way, but that wasn't unattainable. _If only he was single… no, wait. Where did that come from?_ When she arrived, she noticed someone sitting on the steps of the entrance of her building and she gasped. It was dark, she was a little tipsy and the chances of _him _being there were slim to none, but there was no mistake.

"I… I know you."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: New chapter, who dis? Yep, I work two jobs, have a house, husband and dog to take care of, but I STILL managed to update, thanks to you guys. I hope you like this one, let me know what you think!

CHAPTER 3

If Inuyasha could pick a moment in his life to skip, this would've been it. He had been dreading it since the previous day and, unfortunately, he couldn't hide from it.

With a loud sigh, he picked up the phone.

"Hey Kag, what's up?" He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes as he leaned his elbows on his desk.

"Inuyasha! You won't believe it!"

"What? Did something happen? Are you okay?" She sounded agitated and he immediately became alert.

"Yes! I simply had the _best _night of my life! You won't believe it, seriously. Are you free for lunch? I need to tell you everything, like, now."

"Are you fucking serious? All this drama just to tell me you had an amazing date?" He was pissed. Both from getting him worked up over nothing and from hearing that she was practically falling in love with Hojo.

"The date wasn't amazing and I'm sorry, I'm just too excited." She didn't sound sorry at all, but hearing that her excitement wasn't because of bloody Hojo cheered him up.

"Uh, so why was your night the best of your life?" He asked.

"You'll never believe who I met."

"Santa?"

"No."

"Hulk Hogan?"

"No."

"I give up."

"Well, too bad, because I'm not saying it either. You'll have to meet me for lunch." She said. He could tell she was smiling and he couldn't refuse, not when she acted this giddy and playful.

"Alright you wench, you win. Same place, 1pm?"

"I'll see you soon!" She answered excitedly.

Miroku was having a fantastic day. He had woken up that Monday beside the woman he loved, or, more exactly, he was delightfully woken up by the woman he loved, he had gotten 10 likes on his latest Instagram photo (a meme depicting a suggestive situation between a man and a woman) AND he had managed to get to work early. As he was making his way to a coffee shop near his office, to get some lunch, whistling cheerfully and greeting everyone who went past him (and earning some glares from strangers along the way), he thought nothing could ruin this perfect day. Until his phone rang.

"Ah, my good friend Inuyasha, how are you doing?"

"Fuck you."

"Well, that went down fast."

"Did Sango talk to you about Kagome today?" He cut right to the chase. The anticipation was killing him.

"Hm, I don't think so. Actually, Sango and I didn't do a lot of talking today, we preferred to communicate in other ways, if you know what I-"

"Shut up, you pervert."

Miroku sighed. His day wasn't going to be ruined. "So what can I do for you, my sweet pal?"

"So Sango didn't say anything about Kagome?"

Miroku took a moment to think. "No, she didn't. Why, did something happen?"

"Yeah, but she won't tell me what it is. She went on a date with that stupid Hojo, from college, and then she called me today and told me she had the best night of her life, but that it wasn't because of he date. She said she met someone."

"Uh… okay, so?"

Inuyasha growled. "So you know I hate suspense and I have to wait two hours to know what the hell she was talking about!"

"Uh…. okay, so?"

After some more profanities, Miroku tried again. "Inuyasha, what is the matter here? So what if something good happened to her? She's obviously happy about the fact that she met this mysterious person. Shouldn't you be happy? Why are you so on edge?"

"It's not… I'm not… forget it, thanks for nothing."

"Hello? Inuyasha? He hung up…" Miroku took a deep breath. _Not today, Satan, not today._

Inuyasha was trying to find a way to calm down after his call with Miroku. He had been having a hard time concentrating on his work after talking to Kagome, but calling Miroku had been a bad idea. Now he was feeling anxious AND angry. At times like these he wondered why he was friends with the infuriating pervert.

But then the voice of reason spoke to him. _WHY am I feeling this way? She didn't say anything about meeting a potential boyfriend or anything, so why am I so anxious? Hell, even if it was a potential boyfriend, why should I be bothered? _Truth was, his mind had been filled with confusing thoughts ever since he saw her yesterday. He had gone home and done some thinking and, even after Kikyo came to his apartment and they had engaged in adult activities, he still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling he had been having.

It was so strange and so new to him. He was happy in his relationship, he had been happy for a while now. He enjoyed Kikyo's company, he was in love, he was also enjoying his friends' company, Kagome's… and then, all of a sudden, Kagome started going on dates and something snapped inside him. He wasn't supposed to be having these feelings and these thoughts.

He felt like an asshole. He had a great woman by his side, a great friendship, and now everything had become strange and blurry. He decided to make a real effort to try and push aside these thoughts. He didn't want to mess up what he had with Kikyo and he couldn't risk ruining his friendship with Kagome. Not over something he wasn't even sure of.

After being unable to concentrate on work, he decided to leave for lunch earlier and walk to their favorite lunch spot instead of taking a car. He told his secretary that he was going to have a long break and not to bother him on his cell phone.

By the time he got to the ramen shop it was almost 1pm and he immediately spotted Kagome sitting at a table. Her eyes were focused on the menu and she had a frown, as if deciding what flavor to get was the biggest decision of her life. _She's so cute when she does that_, he thought smiling. Then he mentally slapped himself and frowned. _You idiot! Stop that!_

As if sensing his gaze, she looked up and saw him scowling at her. She gave him a bright smile and beckoned him towards her. He made his way to her, trying to recompose himself.

"Hey! How's it going?" She asked.

"Fine, nothing much. You?"

Her eyes sparkled. "Oooooh, you have no idea."

He was really tired of all the suspense. "Just tell me already. Who did you meet?"

His frustration didn't faze her. She smiled again. "Daniel Williams."

He went silent for a moment, expecting some other piece of information. "Who?!"

Kagome acted as if he was insane. "What?! I can't believe you don't remember him! Inuyasha, Daniel Williams, you know, the actor? My biggest crush since I was 12?"

"Wait. You're talking about that guy that played that alien kid in that old movie?"

Kagome deadpanned. "It wasn't an alien. It was a children's version of Superman."

"Well, Superman is, actually, an alien."

"It was a movie _loosely _based on Superman, he wasn't an alien!" Kagome was exasperated and Inuyasha was quite enjoying it.

"From what I recall, he had alien parents."

"He was adopted, he wasn't-! Why am I discussing this with you? It doesn't matter, what matters is, I. Met. Him!" She was now wired again and he, temporarily, decided not to try and mess with her anymore. "So, did you get an autograph, a selfie… wait, I don't even know what he looks like now, I haven't seen him since that movie."

"Well, he didn't do any mainstream movies after that. And he didn't need to. He made enough money from that movie to last for his lifetime. But no, I didn't take any selfies and I didn't ask for his autograph, BUT…"

He raised his brows, waiting for her to continue. "And…?"

"I kissed him!"

His mood instantly dampened. "Is that so?" He asked unenthusiastically.

"Don't be too excited for me." She decided not to let him spoil her spirits. "You know how much I was crazy about him, right? I had tons of posters of him in my room, I wrote him letters, I even wrote a song about him." She laughed and blushed. "Oh man, I miss my teenage years…" She said while staring into space.

Inuyasha cleared his throat. "Yeah, I remember. So, you were saying… you kissed him? How the hell did that happen? How did it go from a date with Hojo to a kiss with a former child actor?" He was trying and succeeding in hiding his chagrin.

"Oh, yeah! Ok, so here's what happened. I got home from my date and saw this person sitting on the steps of my building, smoking. I didn't think anything of it, but, as I approached, I got a good look and recognised him. I said 'I know you!' and he looked at me as if I was crazy", she said giggling. "Then I apologised and said I was a fan of his and how random it was seeing him there, of all places, and that it seemed like a weird dream and all… he invited me to sit next to him, so I did, of course. He asked what my name was and we just started talking. He told me he was waiting for his friend to come downstairs, since he had left his phone at his place and was there to pick it up. I couldn't believe my neighbor was his friend and that I had never seen him before, even after living there for ten years and he-"

"Ok, so you guys had a long chat. The kiss?" He was becoming more and more irritated and even her blabbering, which is usually something he found charming, was annoying him.

"Yeah, so we were talking, my neighbor brought his phone, went back to his apartment, and we talked for like two hours. Inuyasha, I never clicked with somebody like that. I didn't realise how late it was until I saw the deli from across the street closing its door. He seemed surprised as well. It was so surreal. I had imagined myself talking to him so many times, and then it happened after so many years and it was even better than I could've imagined. The teenager in me was in heaven and the adult me was impressed at how good and easy it was to talk to someone I had just met. But anyway, I said it was time for me to go to bed, that I had a class at 8, and he got up as well and kissed me. He. Kissed. Me."

It was impossible to ignore the glint in her eyes. He had never seen her like that, not even with Kouga. He felt himself deflating, falling into a dark place he had never been to. And it felt foreboding for him. Like this was something that could change his life, and not exactly for the better. His determination to not ruin her cheerfulness was slowly fading.

"Kagome, that's ridiculous. He was your childhood crush-"

"I was 12!"

"Whatever. You were a kid, he was a kid. You're both adults now, don't you think you're being a little Pollyana? That was a childish crush!"

"Didn't you hear what I just said? We had an amazing conversation! It felt amazing! And the kiss… oh my God, my knees went weak, I couldn't-"

"Ok, got it! Jesus, you women…"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Anyway, it might have been a childish crush, but I met the real Daniel last night and I really liked him. Like, a lot."

"Wait. What about Hojo? I remember you saying something similar about him yesterday?"

Her face fell. "Oh, the date started well, but… you were right. We don't have nothing in common. I just idolised him somehow, always thought I would feel so happy being with someone like him, but in reality-"

Now he was royally pissed. "Isn't that the EXACT same thing that's going on here?! You are talking about someone you hardly know, someone you idolised for years, as if he was the love of your life! You need to get down from whatever cloud you're on and face the reality. Stop being a foolish little girl!"

Kagome gaped. "Inuyasha, why are you being so mean?"

He huffed. "I'm not being mean, I'm being realistic. That's not how relationships work. You meet someone, you find things in common with them, you discover you share the same values, _then _you fall in love and that's it. There's no daydreaming about a perfect person, someone who cannot live up to your expectations. You're only deluding yourself and when you realise what a fool you're making of yourself it will be too late and _I'm_ the one who will have to listen to you crying."

Kagome was now doing everything she could to hold her tears. She had never seen this side of her friend. He had never said such hateful words, at least not to her. She didn't understand why he was so worried she might get disappointed, but she didn't want to hear his pessimistic predictions anymore. "I'm sorry I bring you so much concern. I never wanted to worry you, all I wanted was to share my excitement with you. Don't worry, if things don't work out with Daniel I won't bother you." She picked up her purse and stood up, wiping a tear from her cheek.

Inuyasha felt his chest tighten. He got up before she started walking and tried explaining himself. "Kagome, I didn't mean that, I was just trying to look out for you, don't leave." He tried to grab her arm, to stop her from leaving, but she deflected him.

"I'm not sure what you were trying to do, Inuyasha, but I don't want to hear anymore. Have a good day." She left him standing alone inside the ramen shop and, for the first time ever, he decided to forgo his favorite food.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

Miroku sighed. "My dear Sango, how many times do I have to tell you? He snapped at Kagome, said some awful things to her and he's sulking like a child now."

"Miroku, it doesn't make any sense. He's her friend. He has always been happy for her. Why is he acting like a douche now?!"

Miroku shook his head. "I know not. What I do know is that he's miserable. Kagome won't answer his calls, his texts… he doesn't know what to do. So, since he's too proud to ask for help, I was hoping you could talk to her?"

Sango contemplated. "Hm, this is weird. She hasn't said anything to me. She's acting a bit strange and hasn't spoken to me that much for the past couple of days. But why would she not say anything?"

"I don't know, but it is odd." It was now his turn to reflect on the situation. "But I think you should approach her. She's probably upset as well and she needs to talk to somebody about it, which she probably didn't do, since you'd be the first person she'd talk to. Will you try your luck?" He asked with a small smile.

She gave him a peck on the lips and stood up. "I'll go home and try. I'll let you know how it goes."

With another sigh, Miroku got up and made his way out of the café, to go back to work.

"Kagome."

"Hm?"

"Kagome."

"What?"

"Kagome, stop!"

She looked up, exasperated. "What?! What's the matter?"

"Could you please stop fluffing the pillows and look at me? I need to talk to you."

Kagome sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Fine. What's up?"

Sango sat on her friend's bed and patted the spot next to her, asking her to sit down as well. "Miroku told me you and Inuyasha had a fight. What happened? Why didn't you say anything?"

Kagome groaned and took a deep breath. "Why did he involve Miroku in this? God, it was nothing."

Sango raised her brows. "You've been ignoring him for the past couple of days, you've been weird… it doesn't seem like it was nothing."

"Well, it was. I told him about Daniel, he acted like he was my guardian or something, he said some hurtful things about me, I left. That was it. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I wasn't in the mood and I was trying to not think about it. I'm pretty sure I'll forgive and forget about it soon, but, right now, I can't even stand talking about it, ok? I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but it really was nothing, Inuyasha was just being the possessive friend he always is. You know he thinks of me like a sister, he was probably just a little jealous."

Sango wasn't convinced. "Hm… are you sure that's it? It sounds like it was more than just a brotherly concern…"

Kagome startled. "What do you mean? What else could it be?"

Sango fidgeted. "Well, maybe he's jealous like a boyfriend is…?"

Kagome looked at her friend with a shocked expression, but didn't react otherwise.

"Kagome, maybe he's developed feelings for you?"

After another pause, suddenly Kagome burst into laughter. After about a minute of laughter while Sango stared at her with a blank face, she wiped the tears from her eyes and calmed down long enough to answer. "Seriously, Sango, that was hilarious. You come up with the best jokes."

"Uh… I wasn't joking."

Kagome looked at her in disbelief. "Sango, come on! You know that's not true. It can't be. He has always treated me like a little sister, teasing me, mocking me, making fun of my boyfriends… no, he doesn't have any feelings for me. Besides, he's in love with Kikyo. He was just irritated that I talked about Daniel a lot, shared a few too many details… you know how short-fused he is. He was just being Inuyasha, but in a bad day. Maybe he was stressed because of work or maybe he had a fight with Kikyo… but it doesn't excuse him of the things he said to me, but it was nothing more than that."

Sango nodded. "Alright, if that's what you think it is. You know him better than I do. Anyway, when are you going to talk to him?"

Kagome took a deep breath. "Whenever I know I can talk to him without yelling."

It had been five days. Five fucking days since I talked to her. What's it gonna take for her to forgive me?

Inuyasha hadn't thought about anything else besides his fight with Kagome since that day. He was starting to get pissed at her, thinking it was enough punishment, that she should have reached out to him by now. He knew he hurt her, but they were best friends, it should have been easier and quicker for her to start talking to him again.

He sat on his desk, staring at the window, looking at the buildings and the sunset. And brooding. This is getting ridiculous.

"Hello, my dear friend. How are you doing this fine evening?"

Inuyasha turned to the door and growled. "Miroku, what have I told you about coming into my office without knocking?"

Miroku waved his hand nonchalantly. "I knew you'd be here alone, don't worry. So, how have you been doing?"

"Fine."

"I can see that."

"I said I'm fine."

"I'm sure you are. So, any plans for tonight?"

Inuyasha sighed. "No. Just gonna go home. Kikyo is cooking dinner."

"Oh really? That's nice of her. She doesn't cook much, does she?"

"No. She prefers to go to restaurants. I don't care, as long as I eat."

Miroku paused, as if trying to solve a dilemma. "Hm, I figured. So, have you talked to Kagome?"

Inuyasha shook his head and then put it in his hands, resting his elbows on the desk. "No. She's still not answering my calls."

Miroku was feeling bad for his friend, but decided showing empathy wouldn't be welcomed by the hanyou. "Hm, I see… Why don't you just go to her apartment then?"

Inuyasha groaned. "I can't. I know Kagome. When she's mad she won't talk to the person who made her mad for as long as she knows she can speak to said person without yelling. I just have to give her time, I'm sure she'll come around when she's ready. I just thought it wouldn't take this long. I know I was an asshole and forcing her to speak to me will do no good", he said with a muffled voice, still not looking up.

Miroku nodded pensively. "I understand. Well, in the meantime, try to occupy your mind, and body, with other things… and other people", he said with a wink.

Inuyasha looked up and snarled. "Get the fuck out of here, pervert."

Miroku raised his hands. "It was just an innocent suggestion, my friend. Besides, I bet Kikyo won't complain, I know how frisky she can-"

He was out the door just before Inuyasha threw the trashcan at him.

"I can't believe this. How could our clean, spotless apartment get infested with bed bugs?!"

Sango exhaled a breath. "I know, I can't believe it either. But the exterminators said once a unit of a building gets infested the others can as well. I guess one of our neighbors aren't as tidy as we are", Sango answered.

Kagome huffed, packing another pair of pants into a suitcase. "Where do we go now? I can't ask Inuyasha to stay at his place. After not talking to him for a week I can't show up and say 'So, hi, sorry for ghosting you. Can I stay here for a few days?' Ugh, talk about bad timing."

Sango leaned on the threshold of her friend's bedroom door, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Don't worry, I've spoken with Miroku. You can stay with us, he has a spare bedroom, anyway. It won't be problem."

"Really? I didn't know he had a spare bedroom."

"Yes, he does. I guess you've never been to his apartment, huh?"

Kagome nodded. "Why would I anyway? He's always here", she said smugly.

Sango rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah, it's closer to both out work places, so it makes sense. Although his place is much bigger than ours, sometimes traffic gets in the way and we end up deciding to spend the night here."

"Hm, makes sense. Is his apartment really that big?"

"It is. It's a duplex. His room is downstairs, as well as his home office, and there's another bedroom upstairs. But he prefers to sleep on the first floor, since the upstairs bathroom's sink is broken and he hasn't bothered to fix it. So you'll have to go down the stairs every time you need to use the bathroom…"

Kagome smiled. "That won't be a problem. It's still way better than spending money on a hotel room. So, you're sure it's ok for me to crash there for the next few days?"

"Yeah, absolutely. Don't worry about it", she said with a smile.

Kagome smiled back. "Thanks. I'll make sure to get some groceries and cook for you guys as a way to say thanks."

"I won't refuse it, but you know you don't have to."

Their chat was interrupted by Sango's ringtone. "Oh, speak of the devil. Hello? You're already here? Ok, we'll be downstairs in a minute." She listened to her boyfriend say something. "You sure? Ok, I'll buzz you in."

She hung up and looked at Kagome, while putting her phone on her jean's back pocket. "He's coming upstairs to get our bags." Kagome nodded. "So, you didn't tell me about Daniel since your first date. What's up with him?"

Kagome smiled shyly. "It's been going great. I didn't want to say anything, I wanted to wait for a bit, to see if it fizzled out, but it's been the contrary. He's great, Sango, really great. I never thought we could have so much in common. And he's so nice to me."

Sango smiled. "I'm really happy for you, you deserve it. So, did you guys sleep together already?"

Kagome stared at her friend with a shocked expression. "Sango!"

Sango shrugged. "What? I'm not allowed to ask you these sort of question?"

"Of course you are, but you don't need to be so straightforward about it", Kagome mumbled the last part, while zipping her bag. "But, to answer your question: no, we haven't, not yet. It's only been a week, you know I don't like rushing things like that. Besides, he's been the perfect gentleman. We kiss, we've cuddled in his apartment while watching a movie, but that was it. And I'm happy with that."

"You're right, it's best not to rush it. Enjoy the sweet early stages of a relationship before putting out."

Kagome threw a pillow at her. "You are turning into your boyfriend, you know that?"

"Oh, that reminds me, I have to let him in."

After getting to Miroku's apartment and unpacking, they decided to watch a movie on the large couch. The couple snuggled on one end while Kagome sat on the other end. Miroku's phone started ringing and the girls looked at him.

Getting up from the couch to answer it, Sango paused the movie.

"Heyyyyy Inuyasha, what's up?"

Kagome turned to him desperately, waving her hand as if to say no.

Miroku got the message and gave her a thumbs up. "Yeah, nothing much, just enjoying this lazy Sunday. So, what did you want to speak about?" Miroku went into the kitchen while listening to Inuyasha. "Well, as much as I like having you here, tonight's not a good night. I have a lot of work to do and I'm feeling a little gassy. So, rain check?"

After finishing his call and walking back to the living room, Kagome asked him anxiously what was the call about.

"Well, he wanted to know if he could come over to watch the game. It pained me to say no, since I know why he really wanted to come over, but you guys are here and I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"What do you mean 'I know why he really wanted to come over'?" Kagome asked.

"To talk about you, obviously."

Kagome was surprised. "Obviously? He's been talking to you about me?

"Of course he has! He's really upset with himself for hurting you, you know that, right?"

"I saw him the other day, Kagome. It looks like he isn't sleeping that well", Sango said sympathetically.

Kagome was suddenly feeling sad and guilty about ignoring her friend for so long. Maybe it's time I talk to him.

"Well, I could always go out and give you guys some space, as long as he doesn't know I'm staying here. I'm gonna talk to him soon, promise. But let me call him first, ok? I'm too tired, I'll do it tomorrow."

Miroku smiled. "Don't worry, I'd rather spend my evening with you lovely ladies anyway. I'm glad you decided to talk to him though. I think he's suffered enough."

Kagome turned to the TV and stared at it sadly. "I guess."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey everyone! It's been longer than it usually takes me to post another chapter, but, even though I have the whole story planned, I haven't been feeling very motivated lately. I'd like to thank those who reviewed this story and thank you so much for saying I've been doing a good job at maintaining our characters' personalities! It means a lot to me. Anyway, hope you like this chapter :)

CHAPTER 5

"So Mushin is going to be fine?"

"Yes, he is. It's nothing serious, but, it's a surgery nonetheless, he will need someone to be with him for the next few days."

Sango nodded in agreement. "Hm. Well, I wish I could go with you. I miss Japan. And I'll miss you too… a little."

Miroku smiled and embraced his girlfriend. "I'll miss you too. But it will only be a week or so. Besides, it will give you and Kagome more space, since we are all packed in this humble apartment."

Sango snorted. "Yeah, very humble indeed."

"Well, I'm sure you girls will enjoy the freedom of not having a man around the house for a few days. You can have friends over, maybe a sleepover, a pillow fight…"

"Stop it."

Miroku sighed. "Alright. Well, I have to get going, my flight is at 9. Take care, my dear, and tell Kagome to make herself at home."

Sango smiled and gave him a kiss on the lips. "I will. Have a safe trip and call me when you land."

Kagome woke up the next day with a blurry mind. She grabbed her phone to check the time and saw that it was already past 10am. Damn, why didn't I wake up earlier?

It was Saturday and she had gone on a date with Daniel the previous night. As usual, she had had a lot of fun and went (to Miroku's) home quite late. Sango had already gone to bed by the time she got home and she felt a little guilty leaving her friend home alone on a Friday night, but she had promised her a Saturday filled with girly stuff.

After stretching, Kagome rubbed her eyes and searched for her robe. After realizing the only other person home was her good female friend (and not a slightly perverted man) and that the weather was warm, she decided to go downstairs to use the only working bathroom in only her white teddy. It was definitely a sexy piece of lingerie, trimmed with lace and very short, but she liked sleeping with as little clothing as possible. Therefore she had packed her favorite piece of sleepwear.

She made her way downstairs in a cheery mood, looking forward to the weekend with her friend.

Inuyasha was bored. There was no Kagome. Kikyo was at the spa, as usual. And he didn't want to do anything. He was feeling bad for himself and annoyed at the fact he couldn't talk with his best friend, so he decided the best course of action was to vent to someone else: Miroku.

He tried calling his cell a couple of times that morning, but it seemed his friend's phone was turned off. After vowing to give Miroku a piece of his mind for not turning on his phone, he changed clothes, grabbed his spare key and went to his apartment.

Deciding not to give Miroku the consideration of knocking, since he didn't get the same courtesy often, Inuyasha opened the door with his key and entered the apartment. It was silent, so he guessed the perv was still asleep. He decided to make himself comfortable and sat on a stool on the kitchen island and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl.

After a few minutes, he heard someone coming down the stairs, humming happily. He froze mid-bite. He had been so distracted with his apple and his problems that he didn't smell her before he heard her. He looked up in awe and his mouth fell open. There she was, Kagome. And she… was looking different.

What the…

"Oh, hi. I didn't know you were here." She noticed him and paused in the middle of the stairs, before resuming her descent.

He just stared at her dumbly.

"Inuyasha? Are you okay?" Kagome said, getting closer and frowning.

"Uh… yeah, I'm fine… I-I came to see Miroku, I have a spare key and he wasn't answering my calls."

"Miroku's on a plane right now. He went to Japan, his uncle is going to have surgery and he went there to stay with him for a few days. He didn't tell you?"

"Uh… no…" Miroku had, in fact, texted Inuyasha before boarding, telling him about his trip. Inuyasha, as usual, didn't read his text. "What are you doing here?"

Kagome was happy to see her friend, but he was acting weird and that worried her. He seemed slow, as if he was coming down with something. "I'm… staying with Miroku and Sango for a while. Our apartment got infested, so…"

Inuyasha just kept staring at her, not saying a word. Kagome was beginning to feel self-conscious. Is he mad at me? "Inuyasha, are you alright? You don't look too good."

Inuyasha snapped out of his stupor and cleared his throat. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I guess I was just surprised to see you here, that's all." He mentally snorted. Yeah, right. Me looking like a dumbass has nothing to do with the fact that she's wearing the sexiest piece of lingerie I've ever seen and that she looks super hot, her boobs are on display, her nipples hard… damn it!

"Alright, If you say so," she shrugged. She walked towards the fridge and decided she would go to the bathroom after he left, since she didn't want to pee knowing he was just outside, alone, hearing her. It was the kind of thing that never bothered her before, but, somehow, this whole situation with Inuyasha had made her feel uncomfortable around him. She opened the fridge and grabbed a Nesquik. Without looking at Inuyasha's direction, she grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl on the counter.

Inuyasha raised his brows. "Seriously? Nesquik? What are you, 10?"

Kagome glared at him and turned to go upstairs.

Inuyasha ran up to her and grabbed her upper arm. "Kagome, wait. I'm sorry."

She turned around and he let go of her arm. "About what? Calling me a child?" She asked calmly.

Inuyasha rubbed his neck. "Yeah, about that too... but, mostly, because of what I said the other day."

Kagome looked down at the floor. "You really hurt me, Inuyasha."

He sighed. He felt even worse than before, seeing the hurt in her face. "I know. I am really sorry. It wasn't my intention. I know I was an ass. I guess I just got scared, you know how worried I am about you. I'm afraid of seeing you get hurt again, Kagome." He decided it was best not to let her know about the feelings he's been having lately. It wouldn't do any good anyway. It's best if I keep it to myself.

"I doubted myself, you know? I thought that maybe I was being a fool. But Daniel and I are having such a good time together and I really want you to be happy for me. I think he's a good person, you'll like him."

Inuyasha suppressed a groan. Now was not the time to feel angry over the fact that she was happy with another man. He would dwell on it some other time. "If you're happy, I'm happy."

Kagome beamed at him. "Thank you. You have no idea how much that's important to me."

"Yeah, I know… so, you forgive me then?"

"I forgive you." She then surprised him by leaning in and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Dog boy", she said, flicking one of his ears.

"O-Oi!" She laughed and climbed the stairs, leaving him flustered.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Uh… hi. It's been over a month, motivation hasn't been the greatest, BUT I WILL finish this story! I guess it will just take a while longer to do so and it won't be as long as I thought it would, hence, the shorter chapter. But don't give up on me yet! Also, I noticed some grammatical mistakes and some typos in the previous chapters, but I'm too lazy to correct them, so bear in mind English is not my first language and ignore them, please and thank you. And, as always, thank you for the reviews, I love them :)

CHAPTER 6

Inuyasha was feeling great. He had made up with his friend, everything was going smoothly at work (aka his bastard brother hadn't been bothering him as such) and Kagome wasn't even talking about stupid Daniel. He guessed she realised that was the best course of action since he had made it clear he didn't enjoy listening to her talk about him very much. Or at all, for that matter.

He was walking through the halls of his office's building and was _actually _whistling.

"Wow. What's wrong with you?"

"What do you mean? There's nothing wrong with me", Inuyasha answered.

Miroku raised his eyebrows. "You're whistling. You look happy. What's the matter, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha frowned. "Fuck off, there's nothing wrong with me."

Miroku shrugged. "Alright… well, anyhow, I've been meaning to ask you… I was thinking about throwing a small dinner party for Sango, on her birthday. It would be just us, Kagome, you, Kikyo…"

"Uh, sure. I'll check with Kikyo, but I'll be there. When is it gonna be?"

"Next week, Saturday, 8pm."

"Okay, I'll ask Kikyo tonight and will let you know."

"Thanks, my friend, it would really mean a lot if you were there." Miroku patted his friend's shoulder and walked away. Inuyasha couldn't help but think something was different about him, but decided to let it go.

"Inuyasha, don't cheat! That's not fair!"

Inuyasha laughed. "Kagome, throwing a red shell at you is not cheating."

"It fucking is! I was about to cross the finish line and you, sore loser, was keeping the bloody red shell for me, for my moment of glory! That's fucked up."

"Wow, language, young lady", he said smirking.

"Fuck off. I'm pissed and I'll curse if I want to," she said, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Well, whether you like it or not, that was not cheating, that was strategy", he said, shrugging. "And now I should go, it's almost 1am…"

"Why don't you spend the night here? I promise we got rid of the bugs," she said smiling.

Inuyasha huffed. "I know you did, I just think it's better if I went home, I have an early meeting tomorrow and I don't have my suit here, so…" That was a lie. The truth was that he was avoiding spending too much time with Kagome. He wasn't exactly avoiding her, he just thought it was better to not spend the night at her place, for example, and risk seeing her in her sexy sleepwear. Kagome was oblivious to it, since she had been spending most of her time with Daniel, so she didn't question his decision to leave at such a late time.

"Alright, I understand. Just be careful."

"Pfff, I'll take an Uber, don't worry. I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah yeah, it should be fun. Miroku said he hired a top chef and got a really nice dessert, whatever that means."

Kagome laughed. "Yeah, he told me the same thing. Weirdo." Inuyasha got up and walked

towards the door, before Kagome interrupted. "So, is Kikyo going?"

"Uh, yeah. Is, uh… Daniel going?"

"No… Miroku didn't say anything at first, about inviting him, but, the other day, he called me and said I should invite him. But since it's too private and none of you guys have met him yet I thought it would be better not to."

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah, maybe it's better. When are you going to introduce us, by the way?"

Kagome looked at him in surprise. "Oh, I don't know. Soon, I guess?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah, make that happen, I'd like to meet him, you know, give him the third degree…"

"Inuyasha, you wouldn't dare!" Kagome was actually delighted about how easy it was to talk about Daniel with Inuyasha now. She was relieved he was capable of it.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding… I'm sure I won't have to."

Kagome smile. "Yeah, I don't think you will."

Inuyasha sighed. "Well, see you tomorrow then. Good night." Inuyasha was now tired. Tired of pretending he didn't care about Kagome's love life, tired of pretending he didn't have any feelings towards her, tired of pretending his life wasn't changing. But he put on a poker face and tried his best to suppress his feelings, for the sake of his friend.

"Good night!" Kagame also sighed, relieved, and went to bed to have a really good night's sleep.

"Hey! Welcome, my friends! Kagome, looking gorgeous as always", Miroku greeted them.

"Hello, pervert. Being pervert as always," Inuyasha said. Kikyo snorted and Kagome laughed.

"Ah, so judgemental, Inuyasha. Can't I compliment my dear friend? Kikyo, the same goes to you, as always."

"Thank you, Miroku. So, where's the birthday girl? I'd like to give her her present", Kikyo said.

"Well, isn't that nice of you? She's in the bathroom, finishing her make up. She'll be out soon. Please, take a seat, make yourselves comfortable."

The group followed their host to the couch and were surprised to see a waiter coming up to them and asking what they wanted to drink.

"What's this all about, Miroku? Trying to impress us or Sango?" Inuyasha asked smirking.

"None of those, my dear friend. It's just a special date and I wanted to give my beloved a great night. She deserves it, doesn't she?"

"She absolutely does," Kagome said. "Ah, there she is! Happy birthday!", Kagome got up and gave her friend a big hug. The rest of the guests also stood up to give the birthday girl a hug.

"Thank you, thank you. Thank you guys for coming to this… feast. It would be weird to have it just for me and Miroku", Sango answered, with a nervous laugh.

"My dear, you deserve this kind of occasion every night, with or without company."

"Okay honey, cut it down, you're scaring me."

Miroku sighed in defeat. "Okay, I'll stop. So, shall we move to the table? Dinner's ready."

Everyone nodded and headed towards the table.

After a delicious meal, the group retreated to the couch once again, drinks in hand, chatting happily about how good the food was.

"Miroku, does your offer still stand?" Inuyasha asked.

"What offer?"

"To have this kind of occasion every night… because if you do, I'm in."

"Ditto", said everyone else.

"It does still stand… but only for my lovely girlfriend, sorry." Everyone sighed in defeat. "Speaking of which… I'd like to make a toast…" he said, getting up. "To my girlfriend… whom I hope will become more than that."

Everyone startled, especially Sango. "Say what?", she asked, baffled.

Miroku walked up to her and took her hands in his, pulling her up. "Sango… without you my life would be meaningless. I can't imagine living without your presence, your love… I don't want to. I am absolutely certain you're the one for me and I want you to be my wife." He got down on one knee. "Will you marry me?"

Sango started crying, as did Kagome. "Yes, I'll marry you, you silly man!"

They hugged and laughed, while their friends clapped. Kagome was now sobbing, making Inuyasha extremely uncomfortable. "Oi, wench, stop crying." He handed her his handkerchief.

"Oh, Inuyasha, I'm so happy, aren't you?" She said, taking it.

"Of course I am, but I'm not crying about it, you wuss."

Kagome glared at him. "Honey, let it go. She's just too sensitive, some people are like that, they can't help but overreact", Kikyo said.

Kagome stared at her friend's girlfriend in shock. Miroku and Sango were still embracing and kissing, too distracted to notice the tension, while Inuyasha cleared his throat.

"Uh, never mind. We should open another bottle of champagne, right, Miroku?" He said, getting up.

"Absolutely!" Miroku said.

After a few more drinks and an awkward atmosphere, the group said their goodbyes and each one headed their way. Sango stayed at Miroku's and Kagome declined Inuyasha's offer to give her a ride to her place, to which he didn't insist.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Well, hello there! New, longer chapter. Yes, already! Hope you're a little more satisfied this time, LucyDEU ; ) Muse is back, apparently. Hope you guys like it, and thanks for the reviews! :D

After a week of awkward meetings due to not talking about Kikyo's comment and ignoring the obvious tension, Kagome decided to confront Inuyasha about the situation.

They were playing video games at his apartment, just like always, but this time they were silent. Thinking that enough is enough, Kagome let out a loud sigh and laid the joystick beside her on the couch.

"Inuyasha, I need to talk to you about something."

He looked at her and saw how serious she appeared, so he let got of his own joystick and turned to face her, dreading what would come next. "Okay, shoot."

"We both know things have been... weird between us this past week, and we both know why, so I wanted to ask you: did I do something to Kikyo?" Kagome almost laughed at her friend's gaping mouth. "Was I impolite, rude or whatever and didn't realize it?"

Inuyasha was a little flabbergasted, since he wasn't expecting her to get so honest. He also didn't want to tell her the reason why Kikyo had been so rude to her. "Well, not that I'm aware of... listen, I know she was a little... bitchy to you the other day, but I know it's not because of something you did. She was just having a bad day…"

Kagome nodded. "Okay, if you say so… you know she and I don't get along, but I would never disrespect her and I don't want any friction between us, I would never put you in that position."

Inuyasha smiled. It amazed him sometimes to see how mature Kagome was, unlike him. The truth was, he knew Kikyo had caught up something. And she wasn't sharing it with him. He knew he had been acting differently towards her and he suspected his girlfriend noticed it. After all, she was very perceptive and, maybe, for some reason, she knew it had something to do with Kagome. She had always been jealous of them and, after not being intimate with Inuyasha for longer than it was usual for them and seeing how off he seemed whenever they were together, it would make sense if she suspected his recent change had something to do with his long-time friend. But Inuyasha wasn't going to disclose THAT to Kagome. "Yeah, I know… I apologize, though. I hope you didn't get too upset about it."

"Oh, no, it wasn't a big deal, it just caught me off guard, that's all. All water under the bridge", she smiled. "Now, how about another round of Overcooked?"

Inuyasha grinned back. "You're on, little girl."

It was Saturday and Kagome and Sango had decided to spend the day doing bridal stuff. But Sango wouldn't stop talking. She. Would. Not. Stop. Talking. And Kagome was a pretty patient person, but she had had enough. They had been walking around downtown, visiting bridal shops for the past three hours and, as much as she was excited about her friend's wedding, Kagome was done for the day.

"… but Miroku doesn't think it's a great idea, so maybe we could hire a Japanese food buffet AND a regular one, and of course we'll have a dessert island, and I-"

"OKAY! Alright, I got it, just calm down for a second! Breathe…" Kagome shouted.

Sango took a deep breath.

"That's it… in… and out…" Kagome mocked.

Sango glared. "I'm not helping you when you get married, you know?"

Kagome snorted. "Oh please, you'll be planning the whole thing by yourself. But don't hold your breath, that's not gonna happen anytime soon."

Sango raised her eyebrows. "Oh? From the way you talk about Daniel, it seems it's only a matter of time before he pops the question."

They spotted one of their favorite café's and decided to stop for a snack.

"Come on, we've only been seeing each other for a couple of months, he hasn't even met you guys yet", Kagome said while taking a seat on the sidewalk.

"Uh, yeah, but from the way you talk about him, it seems pretty serious, as in, it really does seem like you guys are perfect for each other. And he seems like a smart man, I'm sure he won't let you get away", Sanyo said, laying down the bags she was carrying on a chair.

Kagome beamed. "I can't say I disagree, we really do get along great, I think he could really be the one... and I HAVE to introduce him to you guys, ugh, I keep postponing it, I always get terrified when I think about Inuyasha's reaction when he sees him. I don't know what I would do if he suddenly flipped out and started yelling at Daniel."

Santo laughed. "Kagome, don't you think you're overreacting, just a little bit? Yes, Inuyasha can get a little possessive, but he's not bat-shit crazy. He wouldn't go off on someone without motive", Sango countered.

Kagome just stared at her with raised brows.

"Okay, you're right, he's totally capable of doing that, but not to someone you care so much about!" Sango said.

"You're probably right, I'm just nervous, I can't explain why... might as well just get it over with, I'm tired of being anxious about this."

"Great! So how about we meet for dinner at Miroku's place next Saturday? We can order pizza, or I can cook something, if you want something more formal..."

"No, no, Daniel is very laid-back, like us. I wouldn't stand someone 'formal', I hate it when people make a fuss about things, you know that."

Sango nodded. "Pizza it is. I'll tell Miroku and you'll tell Inuyasha... let's just hope Kikyo has other plans that don't include Inuyasha on Saturday."

"Pf, I don't mind, she can go if she wants to. I don't want her to, but whatever", Kagome said while looking at the menu.

"Good. You shouldn't let her sour your mood, she's not worth it. I still can't believe what she said to you. If I had heard it I would tell her to apologize to you immediately!"

Kagome shook her head. "It's not worth it. I don't want Inuyasha to have to deal with this kind of thing. It's okay, it's done, I don't think she would repeat it. But I don't care, as long as Inuyasha is happy, I'm happy."

Sango nodded in agreement. "I understand your point of view and I'll respect it. But if it was up to me, you know I wouldn't let it go."

Kagome laughed. "Oh, I know. Now, will you let Miroku go to a strip club for his bachelor party?"

After having that much-needed conversation with Inuyasha, Kagome felt much better and was excited to meet her friend again. He had called her earlier that day, wanting to meet for dinner on Sunday and, after Daniel had canceled their dinner plans because of a sore throat, Kagome accepted and agreed to meet him at one of their favorite restaurants.

He was already seated when she arrived. She greeted him with a smile and took a seat in front of him.

"Hey! So, how was your day yesterday?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "Awful. Miroku will not shut up about his bachelor party. He wants to go to Vegas. It seems like he's more excited about the bachelor party than the actual wedding."

Kagome laughed. "That doesn't surprise me at all. Sango, on the other hand, won't shut up about the wedding. She has it all planned out, I don't even know why she asks for my opinion."

Inuyasha nodded. "Doesn't surprise me either. She's such a control freak."

"Can't argue with that", she answered.

"So, enough about those two. How've you been?"

"I've been fine, nothing new though, just working, hanging out with Daniel, you guys…"

Inuyasha looked down and nodded his head again. "I see. And how's everything going with him?" He dreaded her answer, but he had to ask and play the caring, non-infatuated friend. He was trying really hard to not fuck up his friendship with Kagome, the most important relationship he had, but it was hard pretending not to care about the fact she now had a boyfriend.

"Uh… are you okay with us talking about him? I mean, we don't have to, we don't talk about Kikyo that much either… not that I would mind, you know you can come to me whenever you want to talk about her, it's just that I don't want you to be uncomfortable", she said carefully.

"Nah, don't worry, I told you I was fine with it. Just don't say anything about your sex life and I'll be fine", he grumbled.

Kagome blushed. "Well, actually, there isn't such a thing… not yet at least."

Inuyasha startled. "You… haven't slept with him?"

"No, not yet… We're taking things slow, and it hasn't even been that long, just a couple of months."

"I thought you were desperate for it though, from what you said the other day. Not that I think you should jump into the sack with him right away, I just thought…"

Inuyasha successfully hid his delightfulness. "Oh, yeah, I did say that, but I don't know, it just feels so good to just talk to him and hang out, watch movies, that it hasn't really been that hard to control myself. I do want to, I just prefer to wait a while, you know?"

Inuyasha raised a brow. "You sure he's boyfriend material? You don't sound too attracted by him."

"No! I mean, yes, I am attracted to him, it's just… ugh, never mind. Your turn now. How's everything with Kikyo?"

Inuyasha let out a sigh, partially because of what he had just heard and partially because he wasn't in the mood to talk about his girlfriend. "Same old same old. We hang out, go out for dinner, talk… normal."

"You sure she's girlfriend material?" Kagome asked with a smirk.

"Ha ha. Yeah, I mean, it's not exciting as it was in the beginning, but that's just reality. We get each other, I guess, and it's… comfortable, I guess?"

Kagome nodded. "Mhm… and do you guys ever talk about marriage?"

Inuyasha frowned. "Fuck no! And don't say that word near her!"

Kagome giggled. "So I guess SHE talks about it, but you don't."

"She gives me hints sometimes, but I can't, not right now at least. I don't know if I'll ever be. It's just not something I picture myself doing…"

Kagome smiled sympathetically. "I understand. As long as she waits, it's not a problem. It's a serious decision, you have to really want it to make it work."

Inuyasha nodded. "I know, I'm not willing to get into a marriage if I feel like it's not gonna last… anyway, enough about that. WHEN are you going to introduce Daniel to us? After you two have sex?"

"Inuyasha!"

"What? I don't know what you're waiting for."

Kagome sighed. "Sango and I actually set a date yesterday. It will be next Saturday, at Miroku's place. Does that work for you? And Kikyo too, she's invited of course."

Inuyasha nodded. "Works for me. And Kikyo has already told me that she'll be taking Kaede to visit some relatives in Washington on Saturday, so I'll have nothing better to do. What are we going to eat?"

Kagome shrugged. "I thought I could cook something."

"What are you going to make?"

"Not ramen."

"Damn."

"Is oden good enough for you, your Highness?"

Inuyasha rubbed his chin and contemplated the ceiling. "Yeah, that will do."

"Great! It's a date then. So, what are we having now?" Kagome asked, picking up the menu.


	8. Chapter 8

The dreaded day had come. This was it. Inuyasha knew now was the time to have absolute control over his feelings. He couldn't fuck this up. He could lose Kagome if he did, for fuck's sake. He even downloaded a meditation app, to try and calm his nerves, but it was no use and he ended up breaking his phone's screen when he threw it on his desk.

Kagome, on the other hand, was excited and nervous. It was extremely important for her to have her boyfriend and best friend get along. She didn't know what she would do if things didn't go well, she didn't even want to think about it, she just wanted for tonight to come and get this part of the night over with.

And so, after a long day of waiting and being fidgety, night time had come. Daniel picked her up and they headed to Miroku's house a little earlier than the time she told Inuyasha to come, since she was the one in charge of providing the food.

Introducing Daniel to Sango and Miroku went smoothly, not that she expected otherwise. He and Miroku seemed to get along fine and were chatting in the living room, while Kagome and Sango were busy in the kitchen, when Inuyasha arrived.

Kagome practically ran to the door when she heard the doorbell and greeted Inuyasha with an infectious smile and a warm hug, which was the death of him.

"I'm so glad you're here!" she said.

"Keh", he answered, slightly blushing. _Stop being such a girl, you dumbass_, he thought.

She took his hand and Inuyasha could only think about how this was getting harder by the minute and he hadn't even met the prick yet. It was going to be a long night and he knew it.

Kagome finally let go of his hand when they got to the couch and Daniel stood up, offering a hand to Inuyasha.

"Hey man, how's it going? It's good to finally meet you", Kagome's boyfriend said.

"It's uh, nice to meet you too", Inuyasha answered, shaking the offered hand a little bit reluctantly.

Kagome beamed and clapped her hands. "Well, we're gonna let you three talk for a bit while we finish dinner, it'll be done soon", she said before leaving the men.

After the girls left, Miroku ran to the kitchen and got a beer for Inuyasha, which he gladly accepted. When he got back, he noticed an awkward silence permeated the air, so he decided to break the ice.

"So, Inuyasha, Daniel was telling me that he also has a bike, and, like you, he doesn't like riding it around the city."

"Is that so?" Answered the hanyou unenthusiasticly.

"Yeah, New York is too crowded, but I like taking it Upstate sometimes, to get away", Daniel said.

Inuyasha nodded. It infuriated him to have something in common with this man. "Yeah, me too.", he said, taking a sip from his beer.

"Kagome's told me a lot about you," Daniel said. "Actually, she never stops talking about you," he said with a small laugh.

Now that caught Inuyasha's attention. "Oh yeah?" He asked, looking at the man with a surprised expression.

Daniel nodded. "Yeah, she really admires you. You're like her big brother."

Inuyasha deflated. "Yeah, you're probably right", he mumbled. Even though those words had hurt him, it shouldn't have surprised him, he thought. Why would he be anything else to Kagome? He could fantasize all he wanted, the fact of the matter was that Kagome viewed him as a brotherly friend, nothing else. And that wouldn't change. Besides, she was with someone else now and he… well, he had a girlfriend.

Kagome and Sango finally entered the room, carrying the dishes they had prepared so carefully. As they were setting everything on the table, the men got up to take their seats, but Inuyasha was strangely standing away from the rest of the group.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, turning to him.

"You know what, I don't feel that good. I'm probably coming down with a cold or something. I'm sorry, I should probably go."

Everyone looked at him surprised, but Kagome was looking especially worried. _What happened?_, she thought.

"What? No, come on, you don't look sick, just sit down and-"

"No, I better go, I'll see you guys later. Daniel, nice to meet you", he said with a nod to said man and then walked to the door.

Kagome looked at her friends, baffled, and, seeing Miroku nod at her, ran after Inuyasha. She caught him when he was pressing the elevator button, looking distressed and tired.

She ran up at him. "Inuyasha, don't lie to me. What was that about?"

He looked at her and shrugged. "Nothing. I told you, I'm not feeling very well."

"Bullshit!" Inuyasha raised his brows. Kagome cursing wasn't something usual. "Something happened between you and Daniel, didn't it? Don't you dare say everything's alright! You are not fine, it's all over your face."

"Let it go, Kagome", he said, shaking his head.

"No! You know you can tell me everything, you know I won't let this go. Please, just tell me already. Why are you upset?"

The elevator dinged, signaling its arrival and Inuyasha sighed. "Yeah, I am upset. But there's nothing you can do to make me feel better. There's nothing anyone can do to make me feel better. Don't worry, I'll be fine. No need to worry about your big brother", he said bitterly, entering the elevator.

Kagome had never been so confused. Inuyasha wasn't like that, it was usually easy to know what was wrong with him, he usually didn't hide his displeasure over something, so she couldn't help but worry. She held the elevator doors with both hands.

"Why aren't you being honest with me?", she said with tears in her eyes.

He then looked at her with the most heartbroken expression she had ever seen. "Because... it doesn't matter what I want, you and I will never be…", he said, shaking his head. "Forget it. Good night."

Kagome was so stunned that she took a step back, releasing the elevator doors.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Don't hate me.

Inuyasha got home and immediately poured himself a drink. He sat, defeatedly, on the couch and moped. He couldn't help but think how glad he was that Kikyo wasn't around. He just wanted to be alone, get pissed and black out on the sofa.

He didn't want to think about the fact that Kagome was always on his mind. He didn't want to acknowledge the fact that she had such power over him. He didn't want to admit to himself that he was in love with her. Because that's what this was all about. He was done. He had fallen in love with her. Maybe it had happened a long time ago, perhaps when they first met, but it didn't matter now. If only he had realized it sooner. If only _fucking _Daniel hadn't showed up. But, then again, would he have "woken up" if Kagome hadn't found a boyfriend that she was really in love with? He didn't know the answer to that, and, quite frankly, it didn't matter to him. All he cared about was how he felt now and the fact that he couldn't ignore it any longer.

It had been relatively easy with Kouga. After all, Kagome wasn't all giddy and her eyes didn't light up when she talked about Kouga back then. She hadn't had a crush on him throughout her adolescence. And he always knew Kouga wasn't gonna last. He could see the wolf demon wasn't that in love with Kagome and it was only a matter of time until he broke her heart. So, yeah, he had been a little jealous, which he attributed to the fact that he was only protecting her as a friend, but not crazy jealous like now. Besides, his relationship with Kikyo was only beginning back then, so he had other things to distract him.

And so that was the reality. Inuyasha probably had always been in love with Kagome, but, since he was an idiot, it took him THAT long for him to realize it.

He downed another shot of whisky before he emptied the first glass. He grimaced with the strong taste and set the glass on the cocktail table. He kept doing that until he was only able to mumble Kagome's name and then fell face down on the couch.

Kagome returned to Miroku's apartment, after taking some deep breaths to try and hide her astonishment. Everyone was already seated, but it looked like no one had touched the food. She sat on her chair with a small smile, as fake as a three dollar bill.

"You guys shouldn't have waited for me! Let's eat."

After exchanging a few looks, they decided to not push her and just dug in.

The next day, Inuyasha woke up with a pounding headache and a pounding on his door.

"What the fuck…" He said while getting up and rubbing his head. He looked at his phone and that it was 7am.

He made his way to the door, and didn't even bother looking through the peephole. He startled when he saw Kagome, looking angry nonetheless.

"Kagome…"

"What the hell was that, Inuyasha?" She said pushing him aside and entering his apartment. "Did you really think you could just tell me those things and walk away? Did you really think I wouldn't stop thinking about it, that I wouldn't be able to sleep, that I wouldn't come here, first thing in the morning?"

Inuyasha could see how upset she was and it had always scared him to see her fuming like that. "Calm down, Kagome. Let's sit, okay? I need a glass of water and some Advil first, so just wait a second, I'll be right back." Kagome nodded, still frowning, and headed to the couch, while her friend walked to the kitchen.

Inuyasha let out a sigh and opened a cabinet, grabbing the medicine and downing it with a large glass of water. He put both hands on the counter, bracing himself for the discussion to come. He wasn't prepared, he thought he would have some time before facing the inevitable, or at least be completely sober for it.

When he came back he saw the shocked expression on her face. _Oh shit_, he thought. He sat down next to her and she turned her body to face him.

"Inuyasha, did you drink an entire bottle of whisky last night? All by yourself?" She said taking the empty bottle.

"No…"

"Inuyasha…"

"It wasn't completely full, and you know alcohol doesn't affect me as it does you humans."

"Still! That's a lot of alcohol and you know it!"

"Keh. Don't worry 'bout it."

Kagome flicked one of his ears. "Of course I do!"

"Ow! What did you do that for?!" He said rubbing the offended appendage.

"So that you could get through your thick head that you aren't suppose to drink a whole bottle of whisky by yourself! Especially when you're alone!"

"Just leave it, alright? It's not that big of a deal."

Kagome decided to let it go this once, since she saw he was getting a little irritated. Besides, they had more important matters to discuss. "So, what the hell was that last night?" She asked, still angrily, but less than before.

He shook his head and looked down. "Just leave it."

"No. I just let you get away with your drinking problem, I won't let this go."

"I don't have a drinking problem! And stop acting like my mom!"

"Alright, I will. Now I'll act like a friend. What the hell was that last night?"

"My God, you won't let this go, will you?" He said putting his hands behind his head and bending it down.

She shook her head. "I won't."

"Look, I really wasn't feeling well, so I don't even remember what I said, okay? I'm sorry if I offended you or something, I wasn't thinking straight."

"You said something about us never being what you want…"

He hesitated. "Uh… I did?" He decided feigning obliviousness was the best course of action.

Kagome was trying to hide her disappointment. "You really don't remember? You're being honest?"

"I am."

"You swear you're not having… feelings towards me?"

Now that he couldn't just ignore. He looked up at her. "What?"

"From what you said, it seemed like… like you wanted to be more than friends, but it doesn't make sense. You know I'm happy with Daniel, and we've been friends for such a long time… besides, you love Kikyo, don't you?"

That gave him something else to distract her with. Besides, hearing about Daniel again made his blood boil. He stood up. "Damn right I do! Do you really think I'd have feelings for you? That I'd leave Kikyo for you? Come on Kagome, don't be naive."

She also stood up, surprised. "What do you mean by that? Is that really so farfetched?"

He sneered. "Seriously? Do you really think that would happen? We've been friends for what? More than 20 years?"

"Well, yeah, but still, feelings can change, and again, from what you said-"

"And do you REALLY think I would ditch Kikyo for you? Have you seen her? Have you looked in the mirror?"

Kagome was now trying desperately to keep her tears from falling. "You don't mean that."

"Ha! But it's the truth! She's waaaay better than you, in every sense. And God, I wouldn't stand a frigid woman like you."

The tears were now falling freely. She had never been that hurt, not even by Kouga. "I… I'm not frigid just because I haven't had sex with my boyfriend yet, it hasn't been that long and-"

"Please! That weak excuse of a man? Do you really think he wants to have sex with you? If he wanted to he would have made it happen. If YOU really wanted to, you would have made it happen already. Just give up, Kagome, he isn't that interested and you really aren't interest in sex at all, are you?"

"That's not true!" She yelled. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but I'm done! I don't want anything to do with you anymore. You crossed a line and it's impossible to go back now. I will never forgive you." She then stormed out of his apartment, sobbing, leaving a crushed hanyou behind.


	10. Chapter 10

Inuyasha was completely heartbroken when he watched her leave. He didn't know he was capable of saying those words, not to Kagome at least. Of course he hadn't meant it, not a single word of it. But his mind wasn't thinking straight, he panicked when she asked him if he had feelings for her and then he got mad as hell when she mentioned Daniel.

He really, _really_ hadn't meant to hurt her. He just wanted to build up a wall, didn't want to get rejected, didn't want to let her in, not at that moment at least. He had had too much rejection in his lifetime, just for being a hanyou. Kikyo was the exception, and, even though girls had always wanted him to pleasure themselves, they were never interested in having a serious relationship with him. Kikyo was the only one who did, and so he stayed with her, even if, deep down, he had his reservations. He knew she wouldn't be with him if he didn't have any money. But who would be with him anyway?

Kagome had been with him through it all. She had shared his moments of loneliness and doubt, his fits of rage, his insecurities… and she had never wavered. Thinking about it now made him realize what a stupid person he was. _Why didn't I realize it sooner? She's the only one for me. _

Well, it didn't matter now, did it? Her words were pretty clear. She will never forgive him. She had been as crushed as he was. Even in all his rudeness, this level was something else, something a friend should never say. But, of course, he didn't mean it. _And I bet she wouldn't believe me if I told her it was all lies. It was too much._

So Inuyasha did the only thing that brought him some modicum of relief, even if temporary. He drank. But, after a couple of hours, he realized it wasn't enough and he needed to talk to someone, get it out of his chest. His feelings for Kagome were something he couldn't hold in any longer or it would make him sick.

Kagome entered the apartment with red eyes and a fallen expression. Sango was lying on the couch, reading a book, and immediately noticed how awful her friend looked. She sat up and laid her book on the coffee table.

"Kagome, what happened?!"

"Sango… Inuyasha, he… he said so many awful things to me. I still can't believe it, how could he…" And then she started crying again.

Sango got up from the couch and ran to her friend, pulling her into a hug. "What did he say?" Kagome hugged her back and allowed herself to cry on Sango's shoulder.

After a few seconds, Kagome let go of Sango and stared at the floor. "He told me he would never be interested in someone like me, that I was no one compared to Kikyo, that I was frigid and-"

"He WHAT?!"

Kagome startled with her friend's yell. "Shhh. I know, it's awful, and I want to talk to you about it, but I need to go to bed now, okay? I didn't sleep at all last night and I need to process this."

Sango nodded. "I'm sorry, I just can't believe he would do something like that! Why did he say those things?"

Kagome let out a sigh and walked to her bedroom door. "I'm not sure, but we'll talk about it later, okay? I need to go to bed now."

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead. I'll be here if you need me."

Kagome gave her a small smile and went into her room, crying until she finally succumbed to sleep.

Meanwhile, Sango didn't care what she said to Kagome. After about an hour, she couldn't stand still any longer and decided to call Miroku. She told him what she knew and how worried she was for her friend.

"Wow. That's… surprising. I never would have thought Inuyasha would do something like that to Kagome, not in a million years", he said.

"I know! What happened yo him? Did he bang his head on something? God, I'm so angry!"

"Calm down my dear, wait until Kagome wakes up and get the full-" Sango heard his apartment's doorbell ringing. "Someone's at the door, wait a second."

Sango waited, tapping her foot on the floor and then sat on the sofa with a loud sigh.

"Uh, oh, hello Inuyasha."

Sango got up immediately, ending the call and running out the door.

Miroku let Inuyasha in and spoke on the phone again. "Hello? Sango? Oh, she'll probably call me back. So, what's up man?" He thought it would be better to not tell him that he knew what had happened.

"I really fucked it up this time." He reeked of alcohol and looked like a drunk homeless person, still wearing the clothes from last night and dragging himself to the couch. "Kagome, she… she went to my place today and I said some awful things to her and she ran out of there, understandably, and I really fucked it up." He was mumbling a bit, but Miroku was able to decipher what his friend was saying.

"What did you tell her exactly?" Miroku asked while taking a seat next to him.

Inuyasha snorted. "That I could never fall in love with her, that she was ugly, basically; that she didn't compare to Kikyo…"

Miroku raised his brows. "Oh, wow. Uh… and why did you tell her those things? That's not something you would just blurt out without reason."

Inuyasha shook his head. "I honestly don't know what's gotten into me. I guess I was still drunk and then she came in and started talking about me having feelings for her and how she's happy with Dennis and I just lost it. I was nervous with how things had escalated so quickly, her asking me those things… the look on her face… I'll never forget it, I'll never forgive myself for inflicting that much pain in her."

"Daniel."

Inuyasha turned to him. "Uh?"

"His name is Daniel."

"Fuck off", he said with a frown.

Miroku sighed. "Okay, but that still doesn't answer my question. Why did you say those things?"

Inuyasha looked down. "I have to tell you something."

"Go ahead…"

"I think I'm falling in love with Kagome."

Miroku whistled. "Wow… I wasn't expecting that."

"Well, me neither, but it happened."

"When exactly did it happen?"

"I have no idea, but I realized it recently. When she met this Daniel guy I think."

Miroku nodded. "Don't you think the timing is a little bit suspicious? Maybe you're not really in love with her, maybe you're just jealous and afraid you might lose her as a friend?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "I thought about that. But no, it isn't the case. I really do love her, Miroku. I can't stand seeing her with him, but I want her, no matter what."

Miroku stopped for a while and nodded pensively. "And what about Kikyo?"

"What about her?" Inuyasha retorted.

"Well, aren't you in love with her too?"

Inuyasha took a deep breath. "No, not anymore. I don't know if I ever was, to be honest. What I feel for Kagome, I've never felt this before."

"Wow."

"Will you stop saying that?!" Inuyasha said while getting up. "She told me she will never forgive me, I don't know what I should do! I don't even know what I would say to her! She's probably in love with this idiot already AND she sees me as a brother!" He said while pacing the room.

"Calm down, my friend. You can't assume that."

"I'm not assuming, the idiot told me that! He said Kagome sees me as a big brother."

Miroku shook his head. "I wouldn't believe everything he says. After all, he's probably jealous of you and was just trying to make you back off in case you had feelings for her."

Before Inuyasha could answer, there was a loud knock on the door.

"It's probably the lunch I ordered. Sit down, I'll be back in a minute."

Inuyasha huffed and plopped down on the couch once again. Miroku went to the door and, within a second of opening it, Sango stormed in, looking like a beast ready to attack.

"Where is he?!" She yelled, looking around the room.

Inuyasha got up and immediately became scared after seeing the enraged woman's face.

"You fucking son of a bitch! What the hell did you do?" She stomped the floor, marching towards him. Miroku quickly got a hold of her, immobilizing her with his arms, while she struggled to get away from him. "Let me go! Let me go, Miroku! I'm gonna beat the shit out of him."

"Calm down, my dear. You haven't heard the whole story yet, just hear him out, okay?"

"Fuck no! There's no excuse for what he said!"

"Let her go, Miroku. I deserve it."

That took the couple by surprise. Sango stopped struggling and Miroku relaxed his hold on her a little bit.

"Damn right you do!" Sango said a little less infuriated.

"I do. And you have all the right in the world to beat the crap out of me. But that won't make Kagome less hurt, will it? And it won't make me able to fix things too, right?"

Sango finally freed herself, with Miroku still reluctant, and visibly relaxed. "So why did you do it?"

Inuyasha sighed and walked to the door. "I'll let Miroku fill you in, but promise you won't say a thing to Kagome, you understand?" He looked at her seriously and she knew she didn't have an option.

"Yeah, alright."

"Promise me, Sango."

Sango gulped. "I promise."

Inuyasha nodded and left.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Oh hey, here I am again! I don't know what you guys are thinking about this story, I haven't had much feedback... hope it's going okay. With that being said, I wanted to thank Ember Reverie and LucyDEU for your continuous support :D

Kagome finally woke up later that day and, upon looking at her phone and being surprised by how long she had been asleep, she also noticed that she didn't have any missed calls or texts from Inuyasha. In fact, there was only one text, from Daniel. And, quite frankly, she wasn't in the mood and just ignored it.

After getting up and using her ensuite bathroom, she went to the living room and saw Sango lying on the couch, watching TV.

"Hey! I thought you had turned into Sleeping Beauty or something."

Kagome smiled. "Sorry… I didn't intend on sleeping the whole day. You're probably very curious about what happened,"

Sango averted her gaze. "Eh… actually, I already know about it."

Kagome's brows rose in surprise. "You do?"

Sango nodded. "Yeah… I called Miroku earlier and when I found out Inuyasha was there I left and I… tried to attack him", she said sheepishly.

"You what?!"

"Hey, calm down. I wasn't able to. Miroku strained me. Stupid, lecherous, peacemaker fiancé."

Kagome let out a sigh. "What were you thinking? That you'd be able to harm him in any way? You know he would've strained you himself."

"I wasn't thinking, okay? I was just blinded by rage after what you told me, so I just went for it."

Kagome nodded. "I understand… so, what happened after that?"

Sango, again, was looking at everything but Kagome. "Well, Inuyasha left and Miroku told me that he was very upset by it all, he told me what Inuyasha told you and everything…"

Kagome sat on the couch. "So he is upset, huh? Go figure."

Sango bit her lip and sat next to her. "Yeah, he really is, according to Miroku. And I could see it too. Inuyasha didn't look good. Miroku told me he was drunk and that's why he shared so much about the fight with him." Sango, of course, didn't tell Kagome how much Inuyasha actually _shared _with Miroku. She made a promise, it wouldn't do any good to blurt it out to Kagome that he was in love with her. That was something he should do himself when the both of them were ready.

Kagome shook her head. "He drank after I left… God, what is the matter with him? He can't say all those things to me and then go and be all upset about it! What am I suppose to assume?! And besides, he didn't even try to contact me, so he's obviously not _that _upset. He doesn't want me in his life anymore, Sango. He made it pretty clear."

Sango was so torn. She could see how crushed Kagome was, how bad she was feeling by thinking she had lost her best friend, the most important relationship in her life. And she had also seen the same in Inuyasha, but she wasn't allowed to help in the way she wanted to. "Kagome… can I ask you a question?"

Kagome nodded. "Of course you can."

"You asked Inuyasha if he had feelings for you, right?"

"Yeah…" She said, looking at the floor.

"So, what would you do if he did?"

Kagome turned to Sango so fast that she almost got a whiplash. "But he's not! You know what he told me, I'm like a worm to him!"

"I know, I know. But, supposing he _did _have feelings for you… what would you do? I mean… do you have feelings for him too?"

Kagome pinched the bridge of her nose and tried her best to hold her tears. "Honestly? When we were younger, I had a huge crush on him. But then it became really clear that he wasn't interested, because he would pine over girls and tell me all about them and stuff. So I haven't thought of him like that in a long time. But then last night, he said something very strange, when I went after him. He said… it was something like, 'it doesn't matter what I want, you and I can never be…' and then he left! What was I supposed to think?! That's why I couldn't sleep last night, I kept replaying those words and trying to figure out what he meant. And then… then I thought about what that would mean and… I realized that yeah, I would have reacted positively if he had meant it."

Sango was stunned. "'Reacted positively?'"

"I would have told him I felt the same for him, okay?! I didn't think it was even possible and I didn't think I'd do something like that, but after I contemplated the situation, I realized that yeah, I would accept him."

"Wow…"

Kagome sighed. "I know… so you can imagine how hard his words hit me. It wasn't just because of the sheer cruelty, it was also because I was disappointed."

"Wow…"

"Would you stop saying that?!"

"Sorry, sorry… I'm just… I have no words. I can't imagine how awful you must have felt. And… what about Daniel?"

Kagome started to cry. "I can't lead him on like this, not after what I found out about myself last night. It would only make matters worse, I can't do that to somebody, especially someone so good and that has always treated me right."

Sango smiled and rubbed her friend's back. "I'm so sorry… but that's the right thing to do."

Kagome nodded. "I know. So I'll call him tomorrow and break up with him." Kagome laughed darkly. "What a pathetic woman I am. After so many years, I finally find someone whom I like and he's perfect, the man of my dreams since I was a teen… and then break up with him over some stupid asshole who sees me as a fly on the poop of a bandit's horse."

Sango laughed. "Where the hell did that come from?"

Kagome shrugged. "Someone once said it to me, must have been a foreigner trying to translate a saying from their home country or something."

Sango shook her head. "Well, I wouldn't say Inuyasha thought of you as _that_… and I also wouldn't say your friendship is over."

Kagome wiped her tears and snorted. "Sango, I don't care how upset he seemed, it doesn't change the fact that he said those things. Besides, I can't forgive him, not that he has asked me to…"

"Give it some time, don't think this is over just yet. Like you said, process it, let the anger fade and then see things through a new perspective. You never know, he might really do something to surprise you and make you forgive him."

"I'm not counting on it, but thanks, Sango. I won't worry too much about it now, besides, I have Daniel to worry about right now. Well, I'm starving, do you want to order a pizza?"

The next day, Kagome called Daniel and they met at her house later. After a long talk and some tears, Daniel seemed to have accepted Kagome's decision to end their relationship and they also agreed to try and be friends. Kagome was surprised by how it had been easy and was relieved Daniel didn't hold any grudges against her. Maybe all was going to be okay, maybe she would be able to move on from Inuyasha as well.

But still, Inuyasha plagued her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about his words, how they had affected her then and how they still affected her now. And the crushing moment she realized that her fantasy of being with him would not only be a fantasy, but that it had absolutely no way to turn into reality. She was tired of thinking about it all, tired of crying over someone who hurt her so much… so she drank a bottle of wine with Sango and fell asleep.

On Monday, she had to make an extra effort to get up and go to work. She attributed it to the weekend's emotional events and went on with her day.

On the other side of the city, Inuyasha was having a really bad day.

"So, will you be my best man?"

Inuyasha grunted. "Sure."

Miroku sighed. "Well, I guess that's all I need. Thanks for the enthusiasm!"

"Look, I'm happy for you, alright? I'm just not in the mood to talk right now, especially about relationships."

Miroku nodded. "Speaking of which, are you going to break up with Kikyo?"

"Of course not", he said with a frown. "Why would I?"

Miroku raised his brows. "Um… because you realized you're in love with somebody else?"

"Pff. So what? She doesn't want me and she never will. I might as well ignore it and move on, don't ya think? Besides, it's probably better to be with someone I don't love than to be single right now."

"And why is that?"

"Well, maybe because it gives me something to distract myself with? Maybe because I won't feel so lonely?" Inuyasha said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I can't say I agree with you, my friend. I think being with someone when you're in love with somebody else only makes you crave this person more. But hey, to each their own. As long as you're happy."

"I'm not fucking happy. I won't be, as long as Kagome isn't in my life. Hell, why am I talking about this? I told you I don't want to talk right now!"

Miroku raised his hands defensively. "Hey, you're the one who started blabbing about how you'll never have Kagome back. Don't be so hopeless, my friend. Maybe she just needs some time and a hell lot of apologies from you to forgive you."

"Yeah, right. And she's got that pansy whom she apparently loves."

Miroku went silent and made his way to the door. He promised Sango he wouldn't tell Inuyasha about Kagome's break up, so it was best to remove himself from the situation before he unwillingly broke that promise. "Alright, whenever you want to talk to someone, I'm here. Just try and be positive, okay? Carpe diem!"

Inuyasha went back to moping for the rest of the day.

After Kagome got home, Sango decided to try and talk to her about the "situation" as she and Miroku designated it. Kagome was surprised to see her friend there, after all, since her and Miroku's engagement, she had been spending a lot more time at his apartment than theirs. Which reminded Kagome that she was going to have to look for another roommate soon, if she wanted to continue living there. _Oh well, as if I didn't have enough on my mind. _

"Hey!"

"Hey there. I wasn't expecting you to be here."

"Well, I am. I thought we could eat dinner and catch up?" Sango said while stirring a pot.

"Catch up? We spent the whole day together yesterday!"

"So? We both had an entire day today, haven't we? So tell me, how was your day?"

Kagome sighed. "Sango… you don't have to babysit me. I'm okay, I don't need you fussing over me, you know. I'm a big girl."

"I know you are! But I'm still your friend and I want to make sure you are okay and eating and not crying…" She said, looking down at the pot on the stove.

Kagome laughed. "I'm doing all of those things, don't worry, okay?"

"Alright, but tonight I'm already here, so spill."

"Well, I have nothing to say, really. My day was… long. And I feel tired, that's all."

Sango nodded. "And has Inuyasha tried calling you?"

Kagome laid her bag on the kitchen counter and sat on a stool. "No. And I don't think he will. I made myself pretty clear."

"Right… well, if he does try contacting you, do you think you'll let him speak?"

Kagome shook her head. "No. I meant it when I said I couldn't forget him."

Sango let out a deep breath, still not facing her friend. "I understand. Just try and not think of him with hatred, you know? It's not good for you."

Kagome's expression turned into a deep sadness. "I could never hate Inuyasha. I'm just disappointed and hurt and I don't think I'll ever see him in the same way I did. But I don't hate him and I don't think I ever will, no matter what he says or does."

Sango smiled. "Good. But don't lose hope. Maybe he had his reasons, maybe he hit his head on something…"

Kagome looked at Sango's back suspiciously. "Weren't you the one who tried to beat him to a pulp two days ago? Wait, do you know something I don't?!"

Sango turned to her desperately. "No! I don't!" She calmed down a little and continued. "After the heat of the moment passed, I just thought that this whole thing doesn't sound very Inuyasha-like. Something smells fishy, you know?"

Kagome let out a sigh. "I don't know and I honestly don't care. I'm going to lie down for a while, I'm too tired to talk. Call me when dinner's ready, okay?"

"Sure."

Kagome fell asleep almost immediately after her head hit the pillow and slept through the night. Sango didn't have the courage to wake her up.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: So I decided to write some later chapters and ooohhhh I think you guys are gonna like ittttt. Hopefully.

It had been two months since Inuyasha broke Kagome's heart. It had been two months since Inuyasha slept and ate well. In fact, Miroku was really worried about his friend. It was obvious he had lost some weight and the dark circles around his eyes showed how exhausted he was. He wondered if Kikyo had noticed or even if she cared. From what Inuyasha told him, she seemed more and more distant, always saying she had to take Kaede to a doctor in Washington or that she had a modelling job somewhere. In the end, it wouldn't matter if she cared or not. There was only one person in the world who could make him feel better.

And that person wasn't fairing well either. In fact, she had been spending all her weekends at home, either alone or with Sango, as they were doing now.

"Kagome."

"…"

"Kagome!"

"What?" She finally answered, turning to her friend. They were both sitting on the couch watching a movie, but it was clear that neither of them were paying too much attention to it.

"Where has your mind been?"

"What do you mean?"

Sango sighed. "I've been trying to tell you that we have decided on a venue and you're just staring into space."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. I was just thinking about work, that's all. So, where's this venue?" She put on a smile which Sango knew was fake. She picked up her cup and took a sip, trying to show interest.

Sango decided to let it go. "Well, we thought it was better to have the ceremony and the reception at the same place, so we found a house outside the city, not too far, that has a huge yard, where we can have the ceremony, and then the reception will be inside. There's a lovely hall which can also serve as a dance floor."

"Wow, that really does sound lovely. Will we have to spend the night there or is it close enough to the city?"

"Well, it's possible to get back home afterwards, as long as you're not too drunk, but the property also offers some rooms upstairs, so that information will also be in the invite."

Kagome snickered. "I guess I'll make the reservation as soon as possible."

Sango laughed. "I think that's a good idea." She then looked into her own cup of coffee, trying to look as if what she was about to say wasn't a big deal. "So, you haven't heard from Inuyasha, have you?"

Kagome shook her head, while looking down. "Nope. It's over, Sango. Our friendship is definitely over. He's probably doing fine, otherwise he would've tried to contact me somehow. But, from what he said, our friendship didn't mean a lot to him."

Sango turned to her friend. "Um, I don't think that's the case, I've told you that. It's probably just because he knows he screwed up and so he's giving you time to cool down…"

Kagome laughed darkly. "You know I'm normally a positive person and that I expect the best from people. But I don't think that's the case, Sango. And I'm not holding my breath. I know I've been acting strange lately, not wanting to go out, sleeping more than I'm normally used to, but I'll be fine."

Sango frowned. "I don't think this is nothing, Kagome. You haven't been you and it's been too long. Make an effort, you know? Maybe get back to the gym? I can go too!"

"I'm really not in the mood. Like I said, I'll be fine, don't worry." She stood up and began walking towards her bedroom. "I'm tired, I'm gonna go to bed. Goodnight."

"Goodnight…" As Sango grabbed her phone to text Miroku, she noticed that it was only 8pm.

Miroku was at Inuyasha's place, trying to be a good friend even though the hanyou wasn't making it easy. He was sitting on the couch, reading Sango's text, saying how worried she was about Kagome and he didn't notice Inuyasha had come back from the kitchen with their beers and was taking a peek behind Miroku's shoulder.

"She what?!"

Miroku turned around. "Oh shit."

"She's depressed?!" He shouted while setting the beers on the coffee table and trying to grab Miroku's phone, since he wasn't able to read the whole text.

"Woah! Calm down, it's my phone, you know? And you shouldn't be peeking!"

Inuyasha growled. "I don't care! You fucking lied to me!" He said, pointing a finger at his friend. "You told me she was fine! You said that she had been a little down, but not depressed!"

"Now wait a minute, she hasn't been diagnosed or anything, that's just Sango's opinion and she's not a doctor. She's just been sleeping a lot and not really going out, but it might just be a temporary thing. Besides, Sango's on it, so if it comes to that, I'm sure she'll take her to a doctor and-"

"What if she NEEDS a doctor right now?! She should be taken to one immediately, this is not normal for Kagome!" He started pacing the living room. "God, what have I done to her? I thought she was fine by now, that she had forgotten about it, about me. I didn't think she would be this affected."

Miroku wanted to slap his own forehead in frustration. Instead, he took a deep breath. "Inuyasha, you do know how much you mean to her, right?"

"What? Of course I do! But I was an idiot and, realizing that, I thought she would know she's better off without me! I just wanted to push her away, so that she could realize I'm not worthy!"

Miroku shook his head and got up. "My friend, what you did was make her realize _she's _not worthy. She thinks she meant nothing to you, that she was disposable to you and that she's not worth much."

Inuyasha gasped. "How could she think that?!"

_How can someone be so oblivious?_, he thought. "Um, because your opinion mattered to her more than anyone else's and you kinda said it?"

"Fuck!" He said while knocking down a piece of decor that was laying innocently on top of a sideboard, making it shatter on the floor.

"Inuyasha! No need to destroy your apartment, okay? It's not gonna make her feel better!"

Inuyasha sat on the couch and put his head on his hands. "Why am I such an idiot? I should have known better."

Miroku nodded, even though he knew his friend couldn't see it. "You're right, you should have known better. But it's done, isn't it? So what's left to do is beg for her forgiveness. You haven't even tried contacting her, have you?"

"Of course not! I know she hates me and probably can't stand the sight of me. I would just makes things worse."

"Maybe. But maybe you're hurting her even more by not trying to regain her friendship. Maybe she's had enough time to think and to forgive you."

Inuyasha looked up. "You really think so?"

"Look, I can't really say what's going through her head. Sango hasn't shared much, afraid that I might spill the beans to you. But I do know how forgiving and caring Kagome is. It wouldn't surprise me to know she's ready to forgive you."

Inuyasha stood up. "I think you might be right. I'm gonna go to her apartment", he said while grabbing his coat.

"No no no, she's sleeping, Sango told me."

"What? It's 8pm on a Friday night!"

Miroku shook his head. "You read what she said. Kagome has been sleeping a lot."

Inuyasha groaned and dropped his coat on the couch. "Fuck. I can't believe this. Why didn't that fucking pussy of a boyfriend isn't doing anything about it?"

Miroku raised his brows. "You… didn't know?"

"Know what?!" Inuyasha huffed.

"She… broke up with him. The day after you guys fought. I probably shouldn't have said that, should I? Ohhh, Sango is gonna kill me."

Inuyasha gulped. "She what?"

Miroku looked around, uncomfortable. "Look man, I already said much more than I should have and I'm probably gonna be single after Sango finds out about this. But yeah, she broke up with him. _She _broke up with _him_."

Inuyasha slumped on the couch. "Why would she break up…" Inuyasha knew that meant something, especially because it happened right after they had their fight. And she had seemed so in love with him… so what happened?

He decided it was time to face Kagome. Whatever the outcome was.


	13. Chapter 13

After learning about Kagome's situation, Inuyasha had to restrain himself. He wanted to go to her immediately, tell her how sorry he was, how worried he was, how much he loved her… _No, maybe _that _isn't the best idea, now is not the time to tell her how I really feel. She just needs to know I care about her and about her well being. Yeah._

So the next day Inuyasha finally headed to her apartment. He didn't care it was a Saturday and he was knocking on her door at 8am. He didn't care about Sango cursing about his intrusion. He was ready to face the music and it was about time he set things straight.

As he feared, Sango was the one who answered the door, looking a bit rough.

"What the…"

Inuyasha didn't wait for her to finish the sentence, he went past her so that he could enter the apartment before she closed the door on his face.

"Is Kagome here?"

"Well, good morning to you too", Sango said while closing the door and turning to him. She tried taming her hair a little bit, knowing how bad she was probably looking. She had just gotten out of bed, for Christ's sake, she didn't even had time to use the bathroom. She was already pissed at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha scowled. "I know it's early, but I need to talk to her."

Sango sighed. "She's sleeping, Inuyasha."

"She's STILL sleeping?"

Sango looked confused. "How did you know…"

"Keh. I read that text you sent Miroku, alright? And what the hell Sango, you should have told me she wasn't doing well, I should have known-"

Sango tweaked one of his ears.

"Ow! What did you do that for?!"

"Huh. Kagome's right. That did feel good", she said pensively. _And damn Miroku and his big mouth._ "You need to chill, okay? I don't have to report to you on Kagome. I don't owe you anything. And you're the one who decided to be mean to her and abandon her! You don't get to come in here demanding I do shit! You're the one who should be apologizing to me! Who do you think had to hold everything together after you wrecked her, huh? I understand why you did what you did, but it's still wrong and you should have fixed it already."

Inuyasha huffed. Sango was really scary at times and he never wanted to cross her again. "Don't worry, that's what I came here to do. And I know you don't owe me anything, but God, if I had known she was… like that", he said motioning to Kagome's bedroom door, "I would have done something sooner."

Sango crossed her arms and shook her head. "You should have done something sooner regardless of what you knew."

Inuyasha hung his head in shame. "I know, alright? I just… I couldn't bring myself to do it." He started pacing the room. "I was afraid to see hatred in her eyes, to have her turn me away before I even got to say one word. I know it sounds stupid, but that's why I didn't come sooner."

Sango nodded. "Whatever, it's your problem, not mine. She's still sleeping, and I don't think she'll wake up anytime soon."

Inuyasha startled. "What?! Miroku told me she was asleep by 8 last night. That's 12 hours already!"

"I know. But that's what she's been doing on weekends. It's not much better during the week, but…"

"God, what have I done…"

"Look, you should wake her up. Like I said, she could stay there for a long time and I think both of you need to fix this as soon as possible."

Inuyasha nodded and walked over to Kagome's door. He knocked lightly and, not expecting an answer, opened the door and walked in.

He confirmed she was still asleep, but, even so, she seemed tired. Exhausted, actually. She had dark circles under her eyes, a frown marring her forehead and her body was curled up into a ball.

His heart broke even more at the sight in front of him. He walked over to her and sat on the edge of the bed.

He placed a hand on her arm and shook her lightly. "Kagome."

Her frown deepened. He tried again.

She opened her eyes slowly the second time and looked up at him, blinking.

"Inuyasha…"

He smiled at her. Even under the circumstances, even with her looking so fragile, it was such a relief seeing her and hearing her say his name… "Hey."

She sat up and started looking around her bedroom. "What...?" She rubbed the sleep off her eyes and looked at him again. "What are you doing here?"

He took a deep breath. "I'm here to apologize. I'm so sorry, Kagome. And I'm so sorry I took this long to apologize…"

Kagome pushed her duvet aside and got up, immediately sobering up. "What are you doing here, waking me up? It's been two months. Why now?" She sounded confused and, as he feared, a little angry.

He got up as well. "I… I heard you weren't feeling so good and I felt really bad hearing that, I never wanted… I never thought you would get so upset…"

She let out a humorless laugh. "You never thought my best friend saying the most hurtful things to me would upset me? You didn't think that would hurt me, deeply? Come on. But I get it. You're just feeling guilty." She turned around, grabbing a cardigan from a chair and putting it on. "No need to worry, Inuyasha. I'm doing fine, in spite of what everyone else says. And I'll be just fine, I don't need your sympathy."

"This isn't about sympathy, Kagome. I genuinely feel bad about what I said to you." He scratched the back of his neck. "I've been hurting too, you know."

Kagome gasped. "Ha! You've been hurting?! Seriously? You're the one who said all those things, not the one who heard them! And, like you said, I'm nothing to you, all that matters is Kikyo, and, as far as I know, you still have her, so tell me, Inuyasha, why have you been hurting?" She asked mockingly.

_Because I love you and need you. _"Because… because I really care about you, Kagome." He said pleadingly. "What I said… I know it was awful, but I didn't mean it! I swear, I was just caught off guard, none of it was true!"

Kagome shook her head. She didn't even analyze the things he said. The only thing on her mind was the fact that he was there out of guilt. "I don't believe you. You couldn't have come up with that unless it was true. And, like I said, I could never forgive you."

There they were again. Those words that worried him the most, that invaded his mind from time to time. He was really afraid she would never forgive him. Inuyasha felt his eyes moisten, but refused to let a single tear drop. "Please, Kagome. I need you in my life."

She was taken aback by his last sentence, but she would stand her ground nonetheless. "You obviously don't, since you've lived for the past two months without even trying to see or talk to me. This is just out of guilt and I am done. Please leave." She walked into her bathroom and locked the door.

Inuyasha had never felt so defeated. His heart ached even more when he heard the sounds of her quietly crying. He put his hands and head on the bathroom door and finally let a tear escape. He knew it was useless to try and talk to her when she was like this. She was still very angry and needed more time. And he would give her that. It was the least he could do.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: I loved your reviews, so thank you, I really appreciate it! Sorry it took me so long to update, but I wasn't feeling very motivated and life has been a bit hectic. Anyway, hope you like this chapter. The next one is already being worked on and shouldn't take too long to be up.

Sango watched Inuyasha leave the apartment looking defeated and teary-eyed. She couldn't believe it, but she was actually feeling sorry for the hanyou. After all, he was still her friend and it pained her to see both of her friends suffer so much. She tried to start a conversation with him, but he rushed out of the place, visibly distressed and probably wanting to be left alone. She decided to call Miroku.

"Hello, my graceful fiancée."

"Cut the crap, Miroku. Why did you tell Inuyasha about Kagome? You know damn well she asked us not to!"

Miroku sighed. "I know… I just blurted it all out when he told me about his… situation. And, quite honestly, I'm tired of seeing the both of them so miserable. It's time they patch things up."

"Well, I agree with you on that, but, unfortunately, it seems like you just did the opposite."

"Oh no. What happened?"

"I didn't hear anything, but, from what I saw in Inuyasha's face when he left, it didn't go well. And Kagome hasn't left her room yet."

Miroku shook his head. "I don't know what else we could do to help. But maybe you should talk to Kagome, tell her how awful he's been, how he knows he screwed up?"

Sango nodded. "I think that might be a good idea, to hear that from me. I'll see if she is up to talking about it, about him. I'll let you know how it goes."

"Wonderful, my dear. Now, when are you coming over to be worshiped by your handsome fiancé? I can't wait to-"

Sango hung up before he could finish his lecherous sentence.

Kagome finally went out of her bedroom about an hour after Inuyasha left. Sango was sitting on the couch reading a book and, once she spotted her friend, her expression turned from distracted to serious. She tapped on the couch, motioning Kagome to sit beside her, dreading bringing up the subject she was about to bring up, but knowing it was the best thing she could do at the moment nonetheless.

Kagome slumped down on her seat and turned to her friend. She was already feeling tired again and wasn't exactly in the mood to talk about her feelings. And she was certain that was what Sango was going to bother her about.

"What's up?"

Sango raised her brows. "I could ask you the same. How was your conversation with Inuyasha?"

Kagome huffed. "He talked, I talked back, he left. Nothing much."

Sango startled. "Nothing much? He left this place looking like he was about to burst into tears. Come on, Kagome, talk to me."

Kagome closed her eyes and laid her head on the back of the couch. As much as she didn't want to admit, it still worried her hearing how upset he was. "Alright." She opened her eyes and kept looking at her hands, which were laying on her lap. "He told me he didn't know I was this upset. He said he was feeling bad too and he apologized."

Sango nodded. "And what did you say?"

Kagome shrugged. "I said I didn't need his sympathy. He had his chance to make things right and that was immediately after he said those things. But no, he waited a few months to apologize, right after he learned about how I wasn't doing so well. He even had the guts to say he needed me in his life! Really? Where was that need when he lashed out at me? Or during those two months?! I'm fine on my own, I'll be even better in a little time, I don't need his guilt-ridden apology now."

Sango let out a breath. "Kagome… I understand where you're coming from and I agree. He was a jerk, he doesn't deserve your forgiveness, but he hasn't been himself lately as well. Miroku tells me he's a wreck, actually. However he acted, whatever he told you… it's the truth. He's really worrying Miroku."

Kagome wiped a tear and looked at Sango. "What do you mean?"

"Did you notice how much weight he's lost? He's buried himself into work, he barely sleeps, he looks like a mess. And he's been snapping at everyone even more now."

Kagome stared out the window. She hadn't notice Inuyasha's appearance, she had just woken up and she was blinded by rage.

"No… I didn't notice," she said, hanging her head down, "but it doesn't really matter now, does it? It doesn't erase what he's done."

Sango nodded. "You're right, it doesn't. But you have to stop thinking like people don't make mistakes and like they don't regret what they do, deeply. You need to get off your high horse, my friend."

Kqagome startled and looked at her friend in shock. "What do you mean?"

"You know I love you, right? So I think it's my duty to say when you're wrong. Kagome, what Inuyasha did was really awful and uncalled for. But he's human… well, I guess half-human, but that doesn't matter right now. What I mean is that he makes mistakes, huge ones, and he says things he doesn't mean, maybe because he was scared of admitting something he wasn't prepared to admit or maybe because he was angry. I don't know, but you have to accept the possibility that he really is sorry and he genuinely cares about you and wants you in his life more than anything."

Kagome was crying now. "I don't know, Sango. It just hurts so much."

Sango hugged her friend. "I know it does," she let her go and looked her in the eyes, "but it hurts even more to not forgive him, doesn't it?"

Kagome nodded and let out a relieved breath. After a few moments, she looked at Sango confused. "Wait. What do you mean he wasn't ready to admit something?"

Sango got up, not looking at Kagome. "I don't know, only he does, I guess. But his reaction to your question was… suspicious, in my opinion. But I can't say what went on in his head, only he can. So give him the chance, Kagome."

Kagome wiped her tears once again and smiled for the first time in a long time. "I will."

Kagome went to Inuyasha's place that night, determined to give him a chance to explain himself and with her heart open to a possible forgiveness. She rang the bell, nervous.

Inuyasha got out of the shower when he heard the doorbell, muttering curses about how late it was for someone to visit and thinking it was probably Miroku, trying to take him out again, to cheer him up.

He wrapped a towel around his waist and made his way to the front door, cursing again when the unwelcomed guest rang the bell a second time.

His sour mood immediately vanished when he opened the door.

"Kagome…"

Kagome was fidgeting and her face turned red when she looked down at his muscular torso. "Um, hi."

Inuyasha still couldn't believe she had come to his place, so it took him a few seconds to move to the side and let Kagome in. He tried not to show he noticed her staring, but, inside, he felt _really_ good knowing his body affected her someway. She went past him still thinking about his physique and trying to erase that image from her mind. Now was definitely not the time to admire and fantasize about his body.

He told her to take a seat and she headed to the couch.

"I'll put something on, I'll be back in a minute."

Kagome nodded and thanked God for not having to avert her gaze any longer.

Inuyasha came back in sweat pants and a t-shirt and sat across from her. He noticed she still wasn't looking at him and was silent, so he cleared his throat.

Kagome startled and decide to just blurt it out.

"Why did you say those things?"

Inuyasha gaped. He wasn't expecting her to be so straightforward. Not when she reacted the way she did that morning. He tried to recompose himself, but failed. "I… I don't know. I…"

She gave him a few seconds, but he still couldn't come up with a phrase, so she decided to coax him. "If you want my forgiveness, you'll have to explain to me why you did what you did."

Inuyasha gulped and looked down at the floor. Could he tell her the truth? Was now a good time? How would she react? He decided he wouldn't lie to her, but he also wouldn't fully disclose his feelings.

He nodded and looked at her. "I guess… I guess you took me by surprise and I… I don't know why, but I've been having these thoughts, I… guess I'm confused and when you asked me why I was acting the way I was and then you suggested that... well, you know what. I just wasn't ready to answer those questions, because I don't know the answer myself." _Liar. You definitely know why. Coward._

It was Kagome's turn to gulp. "You… don't know how you feel about me?"

Inuyasha scratched the back of his neck. "Eh… it's just… we've been friends for so long and I didn't wanna ruin things, you know? I don't know if it was worth it, to risk ruining our friendship for something I'm not sure about."

Kagome nodded. "And have you figured it out now?"

Inuyasha took a deep breath. "No." He had already said too much and he didn't want to go any further when he still didn't know what she thought about all this. "What about you?"

Kagome sputtered. "What about me?"

"Have you ever… questioned your feelings towards me?" He decided now was the time to get some answers himself. "Are we really just friends and nothing else?"

Kagome's fish gaped. "Why does it matter?" She asked once she recomposed herself.

"It matters to me." He was looking straight at her, with such an intense gaze that made her feel nervous and get butterflies in her stomach. "It matters a lot, actually."

Kagome knew what he meant. He was telling her that it was up to her. The ball was in her court. She was the one who would call the shot. She wasn't ready for this, it wasn't what she expected. So she, abruptly, got to her feet and ran to the door.

Inuyasha watched her go with a certain relief. He may not have been completely honest with her, she may not know the extent of his feelings, but she knew enough to make a decision that would impact both of their lives. But it was out there and now he would know if he had a chance.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Not too happy with this one, but things should get better soon. Also, the next chapter is almost done, so I'll probably post it soon. Or not : )

It was Kagome's turn to ignore Inuyasha. He tried calling her a few times after that day, he was getting desperate, he didn't think she would get so freaked out. He sometimes wished he could take it back. But then he remembered how scary, but at the same time good, to _almost _confess his feelings to her. He still didn't know if by doing so he had definitely destroyed their friendship or if it had been the push they needed to become something more. His intuition told him it was the latter, even though it was only a quiet voice at the back of his head, so he decided to not pay much attention to it, in case it was wrong.

But Kagome wasn't ready to face him. She was scared shitless. The possibility of being with Inuyasha… it was so foreign to her that she sometimes laughed just thinking about it. It's true, she had had a crush on him when they first became friends, but once she realized he didn't feel the same and he was clearly way out of her league, she buried those feelings and managed to have a sincere friendship with him. And now she wondered whether those feelings had really completely vanished or if they were still there, waiting to come to the surface once the opportunity presented itself.

After a week, Kagome was rolling around her bed, thinking about everything that he had told her and how confusing and at the same time exciting it all had been. That still didn't mean she was ready to face the music. She was scared and she couldn't bring herself to call him and talk it out.

She was feeling frustrated, wanting to punch him and at the same time kiss him. And then, all of a sudden, it came to her mind: Inuyasha wasn't single. How could she even think of ever getting together with him if he wasn't even available? She huffed and left her room, deciding to at least throw that to his face. She decided to ignore the little voice in her head telling her it was just an excuse to see him.

She made her way to his apartment, knowing he would probably be there, since it was a Saturday afternoon and Kikyou would probably be somewhere else. She decided to take her frustration out on the door, knocking it furiously instead of ringing the bell.

Inuyasha stomped his way to the door and startled after opening the it and seeing her. She barged into the room, pushing him aside, with a vicious expression.

"Are you alone?" She asked impatiently, looking around.

"I… yes, I am", he answered, confused. He closed the door and turned to her.

"Where's Kikyo?" She asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

He frowned. "At a spa, I think. Why?"

_That's a surprise._ "Tell me, Inuyasha. How do you deal with those thoughts about me when you're with someone else, hm? You say you've been confused about your feelings, but you're still dating Kikyo, still sleeping with her? So tell me, how does that work?"

She said the last sentence almost shouting and Inuyasha gaped at her. They were both standing near the door, facing each other like two enemies ready for battle, even though Inuyasha looked like he was about to get eaten by a ferocious beast. "I'm not…" He wanted to tell her he actually wasn't sleeping with Kikyo and he hadn't been for a while now. Ever since his fight with Kagome, to be exact. And, weirdly enough, Kikyo didn't seem to mind. And he hadn't been in the mood to confront her about it either, since it didn't make a difference to him. He decided not to tell Kagome that, though. "I don't know, I just never thought you would feel the same for me, so I guess I just pushed it aside."

"But you're still in love with her, aren't you?" She was still standing in the middle of the room and she wasn't going to give up. He knew she was out for blood and he didn't dare fuel her wrath.

Inuyasha mumbled for a few seconds. "I… I…"

"You know what? It doesn't matter anyway." Her resolve crumbled. After witnessing his struggle to come clean, she didn't want to hear his answer, whatever it may be. He could either confirm it, breaking her heart again, or deny it, and she wasn't ready for that. If he admitted he didn't love Kikyo anymore then it would clear their path somewhat. Not caring about acting like an adult, she decided it was time to retreat. "Actions speak louder than words. You're still with her and that's that."

Kagome went past him and left his place, leaving a confused and stunned hanyou behind.

Kagome was still livid. She hadn't gotten her answers from him, even if she hadn't given him much of a chance. But he clearly didn't know the answer to her question anyway. She decided to walk around his neighborhood for a while, trying to dispel her anger and confusion. She saw a food cart down the street she was in and decided to stop and get something to eat. As she was handing the money to the vendor, she looked across the street and saw Kikyo leaving a hotel. _Stuck up bitch. _She knew she was being unreasonable, but she needed to vent, even if it was in her head.

Then she saw something that made her mouth drop to the ground.

A man left the hotel behind Kikyo and kissed her on the lips. Kikyo leaned onto him, kissing him back, and then they separated and headed different ways.

Kagome forgot all about her burrito and just stood there on the street, trying to process what she had just seen. There was a part of her that wanted to go straight to Inuyasha's place again and tell him everything. That was the part that loved him, even if it was as a friend, and that didn't want him to go through the same pain of being cheated on that she had had with Kouga. But there was also another part of her that told her to stay out of his business, to not interfere with someone else's relationship, especially someone who had hurt her so much lately. _As if I didn't have enough on my mind. _

She decided not to make a decision right at that minute and headed home.

After a good night's sleep, she woke up the next day with a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. She still didn't know what to do about the situation between her and Inuyasha and then there was the whole Kikyo issue… Getting out of bed and going through her morning routine, she called Sango, who had spent the night at Miroku's, and asked her if she was up for a Sunday brunch downtown.

After setting a time and a place, Kagome decided to distract herself with some reading. At about 10am, she took a cab and arrived at their brunch spot with 10 minutes to spare.

Getting out of the car, she spotted someone, across the street, whom she hadn't seen since she graduated college. _Shit._


	16. Chapter 16

Hellooooo and Happy Halloween! We don't celebrate it here in Brazil, but I did get a visit from a dinosaur at my house this morning (seriously, it wasn't a lizard, it was like 8 inches, it was definitely a dinosaur), so yeah, I definitely feel like it's Halloween. Hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter, especially the second half… let me know what you think.

The universe was probably having a laugh at her expense. It couldn't be. In the midst of her problems and her inner turmoil, _he _shows up. She knew it wasn't his fault. After all, how could he have known she was going to be there. It's not like he was a stalker, especially since she hadn't heard from him in years. But still, that kind of situation didn't happen often. _And what is up with people I know showing up at random places and at random times?_

Kouga had spotted her as soon as she got out of the cab, as did she. Her scent hit him at the same time he saw her. It took him a few seconds to get up from the sidewalk and walk over to her. He seemed as surprised as she did. Kagome just stood there, dumbfounded, waiting for him to come up to her and get her out of her stupor.

"Hey, Kagome. How have you been?"

"I… I'm fine, Kouga. How are you?"

He scratched the back of his neck. "I'm fine, too. Listen, I'm glad I ran into you. I know I don't deserve anything from you, but could you please give me five minutes of your time? I'd really like to talk to you."

Kagome wasn't the kind of person to hold a grudge. Someone had to really cross her for her to cut them off of her life, and Kouga had given her enough reason for her to do so. But she had long forgiven him, even though she had no will to get back in touch with him. So why not let him have the chance to tell her whatever it was on his mind?

"Uh, sure. What's up?" She answered him.

He spotted a bench nearby and made a gesture. "Can we sit?"

Kagome nodded and followed him.

"So, it's weird seeing you here. I've been thinking about you a lot for the last couple of weeks. Not that I never thought of you before that, it's just… I've been thinking about you a lot more lately", he said while they were sitting down.

"Okay…" She didn't like the way her pride swelled with his admission, but she ignored it.

"Well, I know I hurt you, okay? I don't know why I didn't ask for your forgiveness sooner. I guess I just brushed it aside and, now, for some reason, I've been feeling like shit for not doing it. I was a jackass back then, I can't even remember what my thought process was like, to think that I could do whatever I wanted and you'd always be there. To think that maybe there was someone better than you out there. Fuck, I'm so sorry Kagome, I know you really loved me and I loved you too, I just wanted to tell you that I _know _I was a dick and that, if I could, I would go back in time and make it right."

Kagome gulped. It was everything she wished, for months after their breakup, to hear from him, and now, years later, here it was.

"Kouga, I… it's been such a long time, you don't have to feel bad about it now. It's all in the past." She wanted to tell him that it didn't matter now, that it truly was in the past, but she knew, deep down, that it still got to her.

He shook his head. "I know, but I can't help it. You were the one that got away, Kagome. I know that now and I'll always beat myself up for not realizing it sooner. Can you forgive me?"

Kagome's heart was racing and she didn't know why. Maybe it was her younger self, who still suffered because of her ex's actions, that loved him deeply and was hurt beyond words when she found out he had cheated on her with one of her classmates. Maybe it was her fragile mental state, her need for affection and appreciation. But it felt _damn _good to hear those words, as shocking as they were to her.

"I forgive you. I actually forgave you a long time ago. It's alright, Kouga", she said with a smile.

His trademark smile, which she adored so much, was plastered on his face and she couldn't help but give him a small one too.

"You have no idea how grateful I am to hear that, Kagome."

She nodded, still smiling, and got up. It was already 10am and Sango should be arriving soon. It was probably not the best idea for Kouga's physical integrity, to see Sango. Kagome was sure her friend would try to maim him as soon as she saw him. "I'm happy we talked too. I gotta go. It was good seeing you, Kouga."

"It was good seeing you too, Kagome." He waved and she made her way into the diner, her heart significantly lighter than it had been the past few months.

After a nice, long brunch with Sango, they headed to their apartment. Kagome didn't tell her friend about her encounter with Kouga. She thought it was useless to do so, since nothing had happened anyway. And it would only entice Sango to tell her what an idiot Kouga was and always will be, so Kagome decided to just let it go.

Once she got home, she realized she didn't have anything better to do, so she went through her social media, to see what people were up to these days. While browsing Facebook, she got a notification. Kouga had sent her a request to be her friend.

She paused, thinking whether it was a good idea or not. Kouga really did seemed changed and she figured nothing bad could come out of it, so she just thought what the hell and accepted his request.

A few minutes later, she got a message from him and they started chatting about what their lives have been like for the past years and, when she noticed the sky had turned dark, she told him she had some other stuff to do and logged out. Truth was, she didn't have anything to do. She was just scared of how easy and comfortable it was to talk to him and how happy it had made her.

She woke up the next morning with her head filled with thoughts about Kouga, Inuyasha and Kikyo. She still hadn't decided what to do and, while walking to work, she got a message from Kouga.

_Hey, how are you this morning?_

She smiled and replied. _I'm fine, heading to work. You?_

_On the subway, going to work too. Do you want to grab lunch today? _

Kagome stopped walking and bit her lip. It was true, she had a great time talking to him the previous night and she was sure he wouldn't be anything but respectful towards her. And there was nothing wrong in having lunch with an old flame when they were both single and mature. Besides, she always spent her lunchtime feeling alone and bored.

_Sure. Where do we meet? _

Kagome woke up the next morning with a pounding on her door. She was confused and grabbed her phone from her nightstand. There were no missed calls. The pounding continued and, since Sango was probably out for her morning run, Kagome got out of bed and made her way to the door.

As soon as she opened the door, Inuyasha went past her furiously, leaving her confused.

"Inuyasha, what are you-"

"Are you fucking serious, Kagome?! KOUGA?!"

It all made sense to her now. He, somehow, had found out. "It's none of your business, Inuyasha", she said sternly. She closed the door and turned to him with her arms crossed. "Besides, how did you find out?"

He gave her a humourless laugh. "Oh really? Like it wasn't my business when you crumbled like a piece of paper when you found out he was a fucking cheating moron? When I held you while you sobbed, heart-broken over his actions? For fuck's sakes Kagome, what are you thinking? You need to stop this right now!"

Kagome let out a sigh. It was useless trying to find out how he heard about her meeting with Kouga. "Like I said, it's _none _of your business, BUT it's been years, Inuyasha, _years. _He's changed, I can see that, and we are just hanging out, it doesn't mean we're getting back together."

"You better fucking not! Or you'd be an even bigger fool than I thought you were!"

Kagome gaped. "How _dare _you burst into my house this early in the morning, saying those things, acting as if you're my protector, demanding I do _shit_? You don't owe me, I'm not your _anything_ for you to come here and-"

He was in front of her in a heartbeat, making her gasp. "Don't say that", he had her pinned beside the front door, his hands on the wall, caging her in. He was having difficulty breathing, like he was trying to control himself. "Don't you _dare _say you're 'not anything' to me. You know that's a damn lie."

Kagome sputtered. "I-I don't know what you're talking about. I know we were friends, but-"

She was interrupted when he sank his head to her neck and took a deep breath. Goosebumps took over her body and, embarrassedly, she felt herself moisten. "We aren't friends. Not anymore. Now you're mine."

Kagome felt her heart thump in her chest. "What? No, we're not… I-I don't know what you're talking about."

He let go of the wall and put both hands on her waist, his nose still glued to her neck, taking in her scent as much as he could. "I know I said I still had doubts, but I lied. I know that I want you. And I know you want me too, I can smell it."

She felt her face turning into a tomato. _He can smell… my arousal? _"I-I… I still haven't forgiven you, you know? What you told me, we haven't really patched things up."

He removed his hands from her waist and crushed her to his body, hugging her and burying his face into her hair. "Forgive me."

She pushed him and stared at his face. She noticed his eyes were now rimmed with red, but she ignored it. "I don't know if I can trust you again, Inuyasha, you haven't really-"

He grabbed her face with his hands and put his forehead on hers, their lips just inches apart. He had his eyes closed and she could still hear his heavy breathing. "Forgive me."

Before she had a chance to react, he crashed his lips onto hers, kissing her with such passion and need that neither had never experienced before. She responded to him instantly, moaning into his mouth, molding her body with his, hands fisted in front of his shirt. He let out a low growl, moving his hands back to her waist, senses filled with Kagome and Kagome alone. He was losing himself in her and he didn't give a damn.

Kagome was sure her knees couldn't stand much longer. She had dreamed about this moment for so long, but it was even better than she could have imagined. She felt a certain part of his anatomy on her lower belly, big and hard, and she couldn't help but grind, earning her a deeper growl from him.

They remained like that for a few minutes, until they both needed to come up for air. She took a small step back, away from him, but he still held her waist, not wanting to let go yet. Kagome held his forearms to maintain some balance, since she was sure she would drop on the floor if he let go of her.

Kagome was staring at the floor, words evading her. What could she say to _that_? That kiss had been the absolute best thing she had ever experienced and it frightened her a little to think about everything else that might come after it. She knew she had undeniably fallen for Inuyasha.

"Kagome…" He had waited for her to say something, but she was taking too long and he need to tell her more. He knew he belonged to her, there was no doubt that she was the one for him, the one he loved more than anything else. He could finally admit it. He was about to say something else when his phone rang. He took it out of his pocket, cursing, and pinched the bridge of his nose when he saw the name flashing on the screen.

"Fuck…" He said before ignoring the call.

Kagome saw who it was and sobered up immediately, taking another step away from him. This time he didn't hold her. "Inuyasha… did you break up with Kikyo?"

He scrunched up his face. "No… not yet."

"Not yet? Seriously? You came here, still a committed man, and kissed me like that? What the hell were you thinking?!" Kagome knew what Kikyo was up to, but Inuyasha didn't. He was still very much taken and he knew she would never be the other woman.

"Look, I wasn't planning for that to happen, I just wanted to warn you about Kouga and-"

"WARN ME? About Kouga?! You're just like he was back in college, cheating! Except this time you cheated on Kikyo, with me! How can you say ANYTHING about him now? You're the one I should be warned about."

"Kagome, it isn't like that, please-" He was interrupted, again, by his phone. "God damn it!"

She hugged herself, feeling tears about to come out of her eyes. "Get out."

He ignored Kikyo's call once again, putting his phone back into his pocket. "No, please, just let me-"

"GET. OUT!" Kagome yelled, moving to the door and opening it.

Before he could say anything, his phone rang _again. _He decided it wasn't going to do any good to stick around and try to talk to Kagome while she was in this state, not that she was wrong. He was a scumbag, and, apparently, Kikyo needed to talk to him urgently. "Ok, I'll go. But this isn't over yet." He walked out, after giving her a longing look and she closed the door with a huff.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Hey everyone! I think this story is getting a little boring :/ I'm sorry about that. Sometimes I have great ideas, but when it comes to putting them on paper (or on the computer), things get lost and then blah. With that being said, I think it will take me about three more chapters to wrap this up. Anyway, this chapter we won't be seeing a lot of what's going on with Inuyasha, but I hope you guys like this chapter better than the last one :D

Inuyasha had made up his mind, but that didn't mean it was easy doing it. He had to break up with Kikyo, as soon as possible, but they had been together for such a long time that he didn't know how he should do it. They had had a few good years but, in hindsight, the signs were there. They were, in essence, incompatible. And knowing her, he was also afraid of her reaction. True, their relationship hadn't been the same for a while, but he knew she would do everything she could to make his life a living hell and make him feel like the worst man in the world, even if, deep down, she knew breaking up was the best idea. He knew he would feel guilty for a while, but he was positive it was all going to be worth it. Kagome was worth it.

Kagome, however, was still fuming. When she had finally begun to get her life back together, started to feel happy again, due to her casual dates with Kouga, her world came crashing down again. She wasn't exactly thinking about getting back together with him, she was just enjoying his company, their talks and basking in the joy of being wanted, as immature as that might sound. But then Inuyasha... She had never been kissed like the way Inuyasha kissed her. She couldn't stop thinking about it and she couldn't stop her body from reacting the way it did whenever she thought about him. Everything had changed between them now, and she knew things would never go back to the way they were.

Still, she wasn't going to focus on him and their situation right now. He had his own deal of problems to handle and she wasn't going to get in the middle of that. And she also wasn't going to tell him about Kikyo: if he really wanted to end things with her he would have to do it solely because he wanted to end it, without the knowledge of her betrayal.

The only thing bothering Kagome right now was how Sango was reacting to the news of Kouga being back in her life. She got tired of hiding everything that was going on from her friend and decided to blurt it all out one evening, and, as expected, Sango didn't take it too well.

"Sango, please, listen to me." Kagome abruptly go to her feet.

"There's nothing to listen to, Kagome! It's Kouga we're talking about! What happened to your memory? You can't be serious about dating him if you remember what he did to you." She began pacing around their living room. "Lucky for you, I'm here to remind you: he cheated on you with Ayame for a YEAR. Everyone in your class knew about it, except for you. He denied it until the last minute, when you CAUGHT them making out in his dorm. He then told you he cared about you, but not enough to settle down. For Christ's sakes Kagome, should I go on?!"

Kagome sat down on the couch and let out a sigh. "I wouldn't call it dating. We haven't even kissed. Besides, people change. You need to chill, it's not like we're getting married or something."

"For crying out loud, listen to yourself!"

"Hey! Enough!" Kagome knew Sango had every right to be upset and angry, but there was no point discussing this now. Besides, there were other matters to be discussed, more important matters. "I know, okay? I know it sounds crazy, I know I'm an idiot, but I'm being careful. I won't let him in until I know for sure he's changed. And even then, I doubt that's going to happen, after Inuyasha came over last week."

Sango looked puzzled. That definitely took her mind out of Kouga. "What do you mean?"

Kagome straightened up on the couch. "We kissed."

"Whoooooaaaaaa!"

Kagome nodded. "Well, he kissed me, but... I didn't stop him."

Sango sat on the couch, still looking nonplussed. "What... how did it happen?"

After Kagome told her friend all the details, Sango gave her solicited opinion.

"Kagome, you know I can't decide for you, but... I don't think Inuyasha is the type of person to share his feelings like that if he's not sure of them. Besides, you've been in love with him since forever", Kagome let out an indignant gasp, "oh shut it, you know I'm right. And you also know that you've forgiven him already, so just lay low for a while, until he breaks up with Kikyo, which he WILL, and then you guys can take things slowly."

Kagome's looked downcast. "I want to give him a chance, but I'm afraid we'll just ruin things between us even more."

"Well, you know you can't go back now. It's like he said, you're not friends anymore. So what have you got to lose?"

Kagome nodded. Now it was all a matter of Inuyasha's relationship status.

Two weeks later, Kagome still hadn't heard from Inuyasha. Her friends were oblivious as well. Not even Miroku knew what was going on. Kagome took that as a sign and, depressed, resigned herself to the fact that she had lost her friend. _Maybe he changed his mind. Maybe he realized his feelings were fleeting. Maybe I was wrong and our kiss wasn't that good. No, that can't be it, it was a helluva kiss. _Her mind was tormenting her all day, everyday, but she felt like she couldn't do anything about it. Inuyasha knew what he had to do and he, apparently, hasn't done it. So all she could do was wallow in her sorrow.

Kouga continued to insist on going out with her. She agreed to a few times, but, in the end, she knew her heart was Inuyasha's and it would take some time for her to give it to someone else, if ever. Kouga seemed to know this too, and it made Kagome feel worse about it, since she felt she was leading him on. But he wouldn't give up.

One lonely Saturday afternoon, while watching a movie at her place, she got a call.

"Hey, Kouga." She tried her best to hide her lack of enthusiasm.

"Look, I know you don't want to, I know you're still upset about dog turd, but please consider coming with me to my friend's wedding tomorrow."

Kagome sighed. "Okay." _I got nothing better to do anyway, might as well have a few free drinks. _

She could tell Kouga was grinning when he answered. "Great! Now, the only problem is that I'm his best man and I need to be there at the church an hour earlier, so do you mind if you went on your own? I'll drop you off at home on the way back, but..."

"No, sure, it's no problem. I'll meet you there then."

After a little more chatting they said their goodbyes and Kagome was actually excited about their date. It had been a while since she got dressed up and had a real good time. She couldn't remember when it was the last time, but she was sure it was way before the whole Inuyasha ordeal.

While getting ready the next day, someone rang the bell to her apartment. _That's weird. _She wasn't expecting anyone and then she thought about the only person who could be.

"Yes?"

"Kagome, it's me."

She panicked. She was almost ready, so Inuyasha would know she was about to go out and he would probably figure out with whom she was about to go out with. And she definitely didn't want to explain herself to him.

"Inuyasha, I can't talk right now."

Inuyasha thought she was just playing hard to get, obviously pissed at him for being MIA in the last couple of weeks. "Please, let me in. We need to talk."

"No, not right now, ok? I'll call you later." Her heart was beating fast, just by hearing his voice. She was getting nervous, she knew how stubborn he could be.

"Goddamn it Kagome, let me fucking in. I just want to talk!"

"No! I can't right now! I have some friends coming over and I just got out of the shower. Go away." _There. That should be enough for him to give up. _

"Nice try, wench. I'm not leaving, so you better buzz me in. Or I could just wait for someone to enter or leave the building and get there myself."

_No no no, what should I do? Oh Christ, desperate times call for desperate measures. _

"I have my period and my cramps are killing me, I can't see anyone right now! GO AWAY!"

Silence. _Oh thank God. _

After a few seconds, Inuyasha finally replied with a huff. "Fine. But I'm coming back tomorrow morning, ya hear me?"

"Whatever, just go."

Letting out a relieved sigh, Kagome got back to her hair and make up. It took her another 15 minutes to get ready, and then she took her purse and keys and made her way downstairs. Her Uber was already waiting and she was about to get in when she heard a frightening growl.

All of a sudden, a scowling hanyou stomped his way to her.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Hey guys, super short chapter, I know, but I didn't want the rest to be in the same chapter, since the next one will be the last. I'm also changing the rating to T, since I decided against writing a lemon. If you think it'd make a difference to add a lemon, let me know and I'll reconsider, but I bet most of you don't care :P Thank you for your support and until next time, it shouldn't take long!

"Where the hell are you going?"

"Excuse me? That's none of your business!"

Kagome didn't make it to the car, since Inuyasha was blocking her path. He seemed pissed as hell, but she was almost catching up with him. He, on the other hand, was trying hard not to get distracted by her beauty. She was wearing a green halter neck gown and had her hair up and he had never been more attracted to someone than at that time.

He took a deep breath. "You're meeting Kouga, aren't you?"

"What if I am?" She asked defiantly.

Inuyasha growled. "Why are you still going out with him? I thought you'd have come to your senses by now!"

Kagome sputtered. "Like I said, it's my life, not yours. So leave me alone." She went past him and opened the car door. Inuyasha turned around quickly and got into the car after her, before she could close door.

"What the hell, Inuyasha!" Kagome snapped.

The driver seemed confused. "Uh, miss, can I drive?"

"Yes." Said Inuyasha.

"No!" Said Kagome at the same time.

Inuyasha hastily took a $50 bill and handed to the driver. "Go."

The driver nodded and pulled out of the parking spot. He wasn't gonna pass the opportunity to get an extra $50. Besides, it didn't look like the guy was going to murder the woman, so it should be fine.

Kagome hung her head and put her hands on her forehead. She snarled in frustration. "Inuyasha, you HAVE to stop this. I haven't heard from you in weeks, then you show up at my place demanding I tell you what I'm doing, invading my personal space, kidnapping my Uber! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Inuyasha closed his eyes and shook his head. "I know you're pissed at me, and you have every right to be so, but I can explain. I just need you to give me a chance."

Kagome shook her head in frustration. "You need to let go of me, Inuyasha. I can't keep doing this anymore. We keep going back and forth, you say you think you have feelings for me, but that you're not sure what they are, you say you want me, then you go back to your girlfriend. I'm done, leave me alone."

She sounded tired and frustrated and he hated knowing he was the one who was making her feel this way.

Fortunately, for Kagome, it was a short ride and they arrived at the wedding venue before Inuyasha could answer. She immediately opened the door on her side and got out. Inuyasha followed suit and managed to grab her arm before she went inside.

"Kagome… please, listen to me."

"Enough!" She yelled. "Go away, I'm gonna be late."

"I think I'm in love with you."

Kagome froze and her eyes widened. He was loud and clear and didn't sound unsure, like he did when he first admitted he had feelings for her. She tried saying something, but all she got was some sputtering.

"Hey, Kagome!" Kouga was at the entrance and wasn't looking too excited to see Inuyasha standing by her side. "Hey, dog turd. What ya doing here? Lost your way to the kennel?"

Inuyasha turned to him, scowling. Kagome took his distraction as an opportunity to escape his grasp and ran towards Kouga.

"Let's go inside", she told him.

Kouga nodded. "Yeah, of course." He took her hand and they disappeared from Inuyasha's view.


	19. Chapter 19

Final A/N: And so here we are. Thank you all for your support, for the reviews and for sharing your excitement about this story with me. Special shout out to LucyDEU and Ember Reverie, you guys are awesome, thank you. I had a really fun time writing it and I'm gonna miss it. I know I have a lot to work on as a writer and that I'm not the best at trying to convey what the characters are thinking and what the scene is like, but I hope to be better in the future. Also, if you don't know Elvis Presley's "I Can't Help Falling in Love", first: how long have you lived under a rock and second: go listen to it or just read the lyrics. Please and thanks. Love you guys! Without further ado, here's the last chapter.

Sango and Miroku's wedding day had finally arrived. For the bride and groom, it was a day of joy. For Kagome, it was a day of anxiety. For Inuyasha, it was THE day.

He had it all planned on his mind and, with Miroku's help, he hoped today was the day that Kagome would finally forgive him. It had been too long, more than he thought he could handle, but he somewhat managed. But he had had enough and he was determined to end this Kagome withdraw.

Thinking about all his fruitless attempts at speaking to her, trying to explain how bad he felt about what he had said and done, about how awful it was not having her in his life, he couldn't help but think that it might backfire, and he knew the odds were MAYBE against him. But it didn't mean he wasn't going to try. For the first time in his life, Inuyasha made an effort to think positively.

It had been a couple of months since their last encounter. He had tried, in vain, to call her since then, but she always ignored his calls. When he realized Sango and Miroku's wedding was imminent, he decided to momentarily give up his attempts at contacting her and just wait for the big day.

He met with Miroku a lot earlier than he expected, for his best man duties. He had thought that he just had to get to the venue an hour or so before the ceremony and that maybe Miroku would probably want to hang out a couple of hours earlier too, to play some video games and whatnot. But no. Miroku demanded that he got to his apartment a _fucking_ eight hours before the ceremony, so that they could enjoy his final hours as a single man together, have a few beers and watch some movies.

Inuyasha was tired of hearing Miroku moan about how important it was for him to have him there for the whole day, and so he complied, although he arrived an hour late.

"Yo, my man! My _best_ man! How you're doing? Nervous?" Miroku greeted Inuyasha when he finally arrived at the groom's place.

"Keh. I should ask you the same. You're the one who is about to lose his freedom. Hell, maybe even your balls."

"Not funny, man. Leave my balls alone." He answered frightened. "So, one more time, are YOU nervous?"

Inuyasha thought about it for a moment, while grabbing a beer from the fridge. He wasn't keen on revealing so much of his weakness to him, but it was inevitable, he knew anyone could see it on his face how anxious he was. "Yeah. I couldn't sleep. This is my final try, I don't know what else I could do to make her forgive me. I should just give up after that", he said leaning on the refrigerator's door. "BUT, I am hopeful today is gonna be the day." He walked to the living area and slumped on a couch while Miroku picked a video game for them to play.

Miroku looked up at him and grinned. "That's wonderful! I'm really happy for you and I know for sure she will forgive you."

Inuyasha couldn't hold back a smile, just thinking about how perfect it would be if everything worked out. He quickly realized whose company he was in and tried to hide his bliss with some coughing and frowning. Fortunately, for him, Miroku was too engrossed in deciding between Mario Kart and Zelda to notice anything. "So, did you make the arrangements?"

Miroku nodded. "I certainly did. Is 10pm a good time?"

"Yeah, I think so. The party will probably start at 8, right?"

"Yeah, just enough time for the ceremony to be done and, since the party is at the same venue, I think it will be the perfect time to put your plan into motion."

Inuyasha nodded and picked up a joystick.

Kagome was pacing around the room and Sango let out a sigh. They were at the changing room at the wedding venue and were almost ready to go.

"Would you please stop that? I know you're nervous, but I am too and you're making it harder!"

Kagome stopped and looked at her friend. "I'm sorry… I can't help myself. At least you know what to expect tonight. I have no idea whether he's going to try and talk to me or just ignore me. And I don't know which one I want."

Sango walked over to her friend and put an arm on her shoulders, hugging her slightly. "Hey. Whatever happens, you'll get through it. If he does try talking to you and you find it in your heart to finally and forget, then good for you. If he comes up to you and you decide to not forgive him, it will be fine too. If he ignores you, well, then that's not gonna change anything, will it?"  
Kagome slumped down on a chair. "But it would. If he doesn't talk to me then I'll know it's really over, before it even began. I know this will be our last chance, I can feel it. But, like I said, I don't know, I'm so confused. I know it's very immature of me, but I thought he would continue to try to talk to me for a little longer and then I could, maybe, reconsider… Oh God, what do you think I should do?"

Sango sat on a chair next to Kagome and grabbed her friend's hands. "Look, that's something only you can decide. I have an idea, but I really can't know what your feelings for him are. And I can't possibly know how much you're willing to let this go and forgive him. What I_ do_ know is that it's been hard on both of you. It's only a matter of weighing your options. I think you're just scared", Kagome looked up at her friend in surprise. "You've been hurt, badly, in the past. And you've always felt that Inuyasha is way too good for you, even though you're wrong about that", Kagome rolled her eyes and Sango continued. "So you're just scared to give yourself to him, but you have to make a decision. You either move on and forget about Inuyasha or you let him into your heart. And other parts of your body too."

"Sango!"

"Oh, don't act as if you don't want to! I know you want to let him in in both senses and you can't deny that. You just have to decide whether or not you can do it."

Kagome shook her head. "I can't think about this right now. We don't even know if he still wants me, if he already gave up. I guess I'll just have to go with the flow." Kagome got up and clapped her hands, trying to change their focus. "I'm so sorry I made this all about me. This is your day, we should be talking about how happy you're gonna be with Miroku and about how gorgeous you look!"

Sango got up and looked at herself in the mirror, smiling. "I know, I do look amazing, don't I?!"

Kagome laughed. "You absolutely do. Now, let's get this show on the road before Miroku comes running in asking why the hell you're still not there."

Inuyasha couldn't help but be amazed at how beautiful Kagome looked walking down the aisle. She was only the maid of honor, but he could not help but think about her walking down the aisle as a bride. As his bride.

Kagome noticed, through her peripheral vision, how he wouldn't stop looking at her. She also couldn't help but take a look at him and her heart skipped a beat when she imagined him as her groom, waiting for her to come up to him. She quickly put that thought aside and averted her gaze.

After that, the ceremony went on beautifully. Bride and groom shed a few tears, as did Kagome, who still couldn't believe how Inuyasha didn't stop looking at her.

Then, at the party, Kagome was disappointed to see that Inuyasha was seated far from her table (thanks to Sango) and that he didn't look at her once for the past two hours.

_Well, I guess it's really over. _

And then he got up and finally locked eyes with her.

The air was dense around them and Inuyasha's hands started sweating. He had never been this nervous and scared.

He started walking to where Kagome was sitting, across the dance floor, looking directly at her eyes, not straying once. She noticed his approach and, once again, averted her gaze. She stood up and grabbed her purse hastily, suddenly too nervous (_Damn him and those amber eyes, _she thought) to deal with this situation, but it was too late. He had made it to her and she froze when he came face to face with her.

"Kagome-"

"I'm sorry, I was just about to go to the bathroom."

She tried walking past him, but he grabbed her arm gently. "Please. Give me this dance. That's all I ask."

His eyes were so pleading, so desperate, that she couldn't refuse, even if her heart was racing and her head light. She nodded and let him guide her to the middle of the dance floor.

On the other side of the ballroom, the bride and groom were greeting a few guests. Looking at his watch and then around, Miroku saw the two of them and, displaying a cheeky grin, whistled at the DJ and gave him a thumbs up.

They began a slow dance and Kagome tried to keep a gap between them, but he wouldn't have it and brought her closer, putting his hands on her lower back. She decided not to waste time and energy trying to scape his hold. Besides, it felt really good to be this close to him, but she'd never tell him that.

"First of all, I wanted you to know that the reason why I disappeared for two weeks is because when I asked Kikyo to come over and talk, so that I could break up with her, she arrived at my place crying, saying how Kaede was going completely blind, and that she needed to take her back to Tokyo, so that she could see her country and family before it happened. She asked me to go with them, and, out of respect for all the years we spent together, I went. I felt it was the right thing to do. But you have to believe me, she and I… we hadn't been intimate since… way before I kissed you. I knew back then she and I were over, I was just putting it off, not wanting to admit what was happening, how my comfortable life was turning upside down. You know how I hate changes. Anyway, when we got back to NY I finally told her we had to break up, that I didn't love her anymore. She, surprisingly, agreed. She even told me she had been cheating on me for the past few months. And, surprisingly, I didn't mind." Kagome was staring intently at his eyes, while they were still swaying to the music. "You know how sorry I am. You know how much you mean to me. I can't tell you how hard it's been to not have you in my life. I know I hurt you, I know what I did is unforgivable. But it's me and you. Inuyasha and Kagome. We've been each other's best friend since forever. We are soulmates, Kagome, as corny as it sounds, I believe that's true when it comes to us. How could it not? And I'm so stupid to not have realized that earlier. You have no idea how much I wish I had. How much I regret not having you for all those years. I know what I did was unforgivable, but please, can you forgive me? I promise I will NEVER hurt you again. You mean the world to me." He took a deep breath. "I want you to be mine and I want to be yours."

Kagome was having a hard time keeping her emotions at bay. She closed her eyes and let out a sob. "I don't know whether I can trust you."

"I want to prove to you, everyday, that you can trust me. I mean it when I say I have fallen in love with you." She opened her eyes in disbelief. He then held her even closer and whispered in her ear. "This song is for you, by the way."

Just then, the music they had been dancing to finished and "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You" began playing.

Kagome furrowed her brows. "What?"

"I asked Miroku to put that song on their playlist. I think it's appropriate, don't you think?"

Inuyasha laid his forehead on hers and closed his eyes. He began whispering the lyrics. "Some things are meant to be. Take my hand, take my whole life too. For I can't help falling in love with you."

Kagome had also closed her eyes, not caring about how much her makeup was getting ruined by her tears. She knew she didn't have any strength left in her to keep denying herself of what she wanted more than anything. So she kissed him on the lips.

This time, their kiss was passionate and desperate, but at the same time caring. They both felt like the only people in the world in that moment and nothing else mattered but each other. It was only when the next song started, an upbeat pop, that they realized they had stopped dancing and were just fully making out in the middle of the dance floor, but they still missed Miroku's and Sango's little happy dance.

They looked at each other and Kagome had never seen Inuyasha look so happy and she was sure she looked the same.

"You have no idea how afraid I was that you would say no. I don't even want to think about what I would've done."

Kagome grabbed his hand and led him outside, to the balcony. Turning to him, she gave him a smile. "Well, you don't have to anymore, do you?" She said, caressing his face. "I forgive you, Inuyasha. I'll trust you with my heart."

He smiled and gave her a lingering kiss on her lips. "I promise I won't disappoint you. Kagome, I love you. More than life itself."

He looked dead serious and Kagome wiped a stray tear from her eye. Somehow, she knew he was telling the truth. "I love you too."

He hugged her and twirled her, making her scream with happiness.

Everything was right in their world now.

Final A/N part two: No lemon, I know. But there's _probably _gonna be an epilogue and it will have a lemon, so stay tuned.


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